The Enchanted Forest
by jewelpearl
Summary: Queen Sophie Anne sends Bill to procure two fairies from Bon Temps. What will Eric do?
1. Chapter 1

AN: This story assumes the basic knowledge about SVM and TB. Just saying, because I don't want to waste a lot of space and energy on unnecessary exposition that everyone already knows. In short (so I don't have to go into great detail), vampires came out of the coffin a couple years ago, Eric Northman (Viking vampire, who is very tall and maker of Pam), is sheriff of area 5 of Louisiana, owns Fangtasia, the premiere vampire club in Shreveport. Sookie and Jason Stackhouse are brother and sister who live in Bon Temps a few miles away. Oh, and also, I don't own anything…

Chapter One – Missives and Missions

Bill Compton stood in front of me smirking. I'd seen him walk into my bar a few moments ago, and I knew – I just knew – I was not going to like what he would be dishing out. I'd seen him often enough in Sophie Ann's 'court', if you could legitimately call it that. I thought her 'court' was rather more like a circus, a very pathetically sexual circus. But she was my monarch, and I'd sworn fealty. I was her sheriff and unfortunately duty bound to her. I looked up at the asshole as he arrived at my booth, and as congenially as I could I asked, "Bill Compton, what brings you to Area Five?"

"I am on a _mission_ for our queen, Northman" he replied. A _mission_ , how intriguing… He was the queen's procurer, so I knew that something, or, more likely, someone had caught our insipid queen's attention. In a purely silly moment of inner musing, the theme music to _Mission Impossible_ began a loop in my head. My amusement at this ridiculous emissary from the queen leaked into the bond I shared with my child, and I looked over at Pamela as she tried to hide a smile by looking down at her hands clasped on top of the table of our booth.

Yes, I was the queen's subject, but only because I chose to be. It's so difficult when you reach a certain age as a vampire. If you are by far older than all those around you, you have but two choices: rule, or be ruled on your own terms. I had chosen the latter, because, really, who needs all that paperwork? I would say life's too short for all that bullshit, but in my case that's not a realistic argument. At one thousand plus years old, I would be hard-pressed to prove life is short. So, I'd chosen to be a sheriff for a queen who was significantly younger than I. She pretty much left me alone to run my little corner of Louisiana, and I had far less paperwork than she had. She also frequently acknowledged, as she should, that I was the greatest asset of her queendom. No one would challenge Sophie Ann as queen as long as she had my allegiance. Oh sure, she would call me to New Orleans for sheriff's meetings and queendom business on a regular basis – and she would also try to flex her monarch's muscles now and again – but mostly she left me to my own devices, as long as she got my area's financial tributes on a regular basis. And my area was the most profitable in the state, including New Orleans, which had a substantially higher population of vampires.

"So… Bill, why are you here, telling me you have a _mission_?" I said as I leaned back against the booth, extended my arms around the top, and stretched my long legs out, totally filling the inner geography of the booth. "What exactly is your purpose here?" I asked.

And with that he widened his smirk and pulled a scroll from inside his jacket and slapped it down on the table in front of me. A scroll… with one red ribbon around the center and at least two wax seals I could see without even touching it. I couldn't help but chuckle. "A scroll?" I asked. "Are we in the fifteenth century? Why are you handing me this?"

"It is a missive from our queen," he declared proudly. Seriously? A missive?

"A missive?" I couldn't help but ask out loud, if only to fuck with this civil war reject.

"That means a letter, communication, etc." he sneered in reply. I simply tilted my head to the side and stared back at him.

"Seriously, Bill? I was speaking English centuries before you were born. I know what a fucking missive is. From the medieval Latin _littera missiva_ , you dimwit" (thank you, perfect recall). Hell, I was speaking English even before Modern English, as it is called today, came into common usage. "I was just wondering why you and apparently Sophie Ann have gone all medieval with this scroll slash missive."

Pam finally let a chuckle out. "Han är verkligen en clueless knopp, inte han?" ( **He really is a clueless knob, isn't he?)** I smiled at her astute observation. Although she'd never met the knob before now, stories of his dealings and general behavior were well known throughout Louisiana. He had made quite the reputation for himself, just not the one he thinks he made. He was known everywhere as Sophie Ann's lapdog, toady, lickspittle, and all around sycophant. He was also well-known for dropping her name in every situation – as if it made him more important by association in all of his endeavors.

Bill fidgeted a little after I called him a dimwit, and after Pam's comment, although I'm pretty sure he had no idea of the actual meaning of her words. He probably assumed, correctly as it turns out, that she said something belittling about him, especially since there's no old Norse or Swedish word for "clueless". "Er... you should read it," he stammered.

I picked up the "missive" and twirled it through my fingers, then tapped it against the table a few times coinciding with the rhythm of the music playing over the sound system in my club. The longer I drummed with my make-shift drumstick, the more agitated Bill became. Not much of a vampire-poker face on this guy. Five, four, three, two, one...

"Well are you going to read it or not?" he practically shouted. All of the other vampires in the club turned and looked in our direction.

"You may want to watch your tone, Mr. Compton. I am the sheriff here, and I will be respected... even by a toady from the queen's court." Almost everybody who knew me knew that they should be most worried for their undead life when I spoke softly and politely, and I could see from Mr. Bill's response that he had an 'Oh Nooooo...' moment. I smiled at him and looked at the scroll in my hands. "Yes, I will read her majesty's ... _epistle_... when I'm good and ready, and certainly not just so that you can stand there and watch me. Now, shuffle off, like a good little errand boy..."

"But, I..."

"GO NOW!" I cut him off, decisively. He turned and ran at vamp-speed out of Fangtasia, followed by a chorus of chuckles from the other vampires in attendance. I smirked as I placed the ridiculous scroll onto my index finger like a basket-woven Chinese torture toy as I arose from my booth. "I'll be in my office," I whispered, but I knew Pam would hear me. When I got to my office I plopped down into my desk chair and propped up my feet on the corner of the desk. After a deep and totally unnecessary sigh, I opened the scroll to read my missive. It was written in large caligraphy strokes:

 _Sheriff Northman,_

 _I have sent my procurer to your area to acquire a pair of assets I desire in Bon Temps. You will not impede his efforts in any way. Compton will be staying at his ancestral home there under the guise of mainstreaming until he can procure those assets(a brother and sister) and bring them to me. They are relatives of my beloved pet Hadley, and she longs to have her family around her. I find I cannot deny her desire._

 _Yours,_

 _HRH Sophie Ann LeClerq_

Interesting… the use of the word 'desire'… In the first sentence Sophie Ann desires the assets. In the final sentence it is beloved pet Hadley who desires her family members. A small but telling contradiction.

'You will not impede his efforts in any way'. Well that sentence is wide open for interpretation. You would think that at nearly half a millennium that Sophie would have learned to be more precise in her language. There was a definite 'work-around' in that sentence. First, I knew I had to find these assets. If they were worthy of a royal missive, I might want them for myself. I would just have to be very careful how I went about it.

I pulled an untraceable, throw-away cell phone from the locked bottom desk drawer and called my investigator Raphael, told him what I knew about beloved pet Hadley, and asked him to find out everything he could about her family in Bon Temps ASAP. I knew I wouldn't have much time to get to them before Bill, so as to avoid 'impeding his efforts in any way.' I also wanted to know the whereabouts and business of Bill Compton at all times, including bugging, with both audio and video surveillance, his house, car, phone, computer, and anything else the investigator could think of.

When I hung up the phone from Raphael, I felt a rare thrill course through my body. The game was definitely afoot. I realized with a small degree of sadness how boring my life must have become if something like this could give me such a thrill. Ah well, nothing to do about that now… I walked back into the bar and took my throne on the stage. Time to enthrall the vermin; it's why they were paying for my over-priced drinks.

I may have looked like I had gone into down-time, but I was actually contemplating beloved pet Hadley. I had met her on a few of my visits to Sophie Ann's court, but unlike most of the rest of Louisiana's vampires, I hadn't sampled her wares. Truth be told, she was quite pretty and smelled divine, however she seemed to have the IQ of a doorknob. I supposed she must be a sexual savant because it couldn't have been her sparkling wit that endeared her to the queen. Of course, Sophie Ann wasn't exactly a brain-trust herself. She undoubtedly had a certain political savvy, but it was widely known that her child Andre was the actual brains behind the throne. If something happened to Andre, the queen would probably have less than a year left on her throne. That would not bode well for me, so I had an uneasy truce with Andre. Neither of us liked each other, but we didn't really get in the way of each other either. We shared a common interest in keeping Sophie Ann on the throne. My corner of Louisiana marked the first time I had set down any kind of roots for a very, very long time… if ever. Even though I had developed a potentially fatal case of complacency in living here – what can I say? It was home now. Besides, now I had a little intrigue to drive those old complacency blues away.

The good thing about down-time contemplations is that you lose track of actual time. Before I knew it Long Shadow was shouting out "last call". I looked around at the patrons of Fangtasia to see if there was anyone worth my last call effort. A quick glance revealed that sadly, no, none were worthy. I had a reputation for being quite the ladies vampire, and I nurtured that reputation. Truth is, though, I wasn't nearly as sexually active as everyone thought. That was by choice. Oh, I would have an occasional fuck and feed, but after a thousand years, it took someone really special to inspire true desire. And 'really special' was in shockingly short supply at Fangtasia. I walked at human speed to my office to close out the night. I picked up my throw-away cell to see that it was flashing with a message. My investigator is the best, but this was fast even for him. The message told me to check my email. I looked at the email:

Northman,

I have only made a cursory look into the relatives of Hadley Delahoussay in Bon Temps, and here is what I found:

Relatives of Hadley Delahoussay in Bon Temps:

Grandmother – Adele Hale Stackhouse, homemaker. Adele's family includes:

Husband Mitchell Stackhouse, farmer/construction worker, deceased.

Son Corbett Stackhouse, refinery maintenance mechanic, deceased and his wife Michelle Turner Stackhouse, housewife, deceased.

Daughter Lynda Stackhouse Delahoussay (mother of Hadley), bookkeeper, deceased.

Son-in-law Stanley Delahoussay (father of Hadley), occupation and whereabouts unknown.

Brother Bartlett Hale, retired shoe store manager, currently disabled/wheelchair bound and living in Monroe.

There is quite a bit of information available on Hadley's cousins:

Jason and Sookie Stackhouse (children of Corbett and Michelle, raised by Adele after their parents' deaths – Sookie was aged 7 and Jason was aged 10).

Sookie (now aged 24) still lives with Grandmother at 234 Hummingbird Lane, Bon Temps; Jason (aged 27) lives in their deceased parents' house a couple miles away at 1503 Lariat Loop.

Jason and Sookie own a business together that is located on the 25 acre family homestead on Hummingbird Lane – **The Enchanted Forest** – a greenhouse, plant nursery, and landscaping company. The Enchanted Forest is an almost three-year old successfully run business with net profits of almost $200K last year. Lucrative landscaping contract clients include City of Shreveport building complex, The Shreveport Hyatt Regency, Centenary College, Bonne Chance Casino and Hotel in Bossier City, Renard Parish County Courthouse, Red River Mall and Office complex, to name a few. They are also the preferred landscapers of residents of Pine Hollow and Delta Oaks subdivisions – two of the more affluent Shreveport neighborhoods, among others.

Education – Sookie Stackhouse, BS in botany and business from Centenary College in Shreveport; Jason Stackhouse – AS in horticulture and landscaping from LSU-Alexandria. Both are also graduates of Bon Temps High School.

Angie's List has a huge and extensive list of satisfied customers of The Enchanted Forest. Here's a link to their website .com.

I will have more information after a more detailed investigation.

Raphael

I sat back in my chair trying to absorb this information. These Stackhouse cousins must be the target of Compton's mission. What is Sophie Ann thinking? These cousins are well-established – hell, I'm one of their clients, or at least my casino is, not that I would've known – and in the world of their business, they are apparently well known. And what the hell kind of name is Sookie?

I brought up their website. The home page had different pictures related to the various natures of their business. There were amazing pictures of the plants in their nursery over a wide stretch of acres of land. Inside the greenhouse were the more delicate plants, some of them quite rare, but all of them healthy, green, and beautiful. There was a tab that showed various sites and pictures of their completed landscaping projects, and it was very impressive. They had not only an eye for the beauty of plants, but also an eye for the artistic ways they could be arranged and displayed. This represented work way beyond what a mere three years in business should yield. There were other tabs on the website that included price and plant lists, seasonal specials, testimonials, links to other websites, and ways to contact the company.

Finallly, there was a tab that said simply 'About Us'. I clicked on that, and a picture of the two beautiful, blonde siblings popped up. Their picture was taken in a wild-flowered meadow – an unusual choice considering their business. They were both sitting on the ground in the sunshine surrounded by high grass, and the photographer caught them in the midst of laughing expansively, as if they had just heard the funniest joke of their lives, with her leaning slightly into him and his arm around her shoulder, their jubilant faces pointing in different directions. Their hair sparkled golden in the sun; they had tan skin with that glow of youthful health. Their teeth were straight and white, and their eyes were sky-blue. In short, they were glorious. I may have even gasped when their picture first came up, but I would deny it.

Under their picture was some biographical information similar to what Raphael had provided me, with a few more tidbits (apparently Jason was an all-state quarterback of their high school football team, and Sookie went to college on a full academic scholarship, as well as representing Renard Parish in the Miss Louisiana Pageant) along with the usual mission, vision, and values statements that all business majors are taught to create. They were very impressive on many fronts. At the bottom of the screen was an invitation to _like_ The Enchanted Forest Facebook page. I was sorely tempted to do so.

I sat back in my chair and thought about the beautiful siblings. Why would Sophie Ann want them so badly? Sure, they were attractive, and if they smelled half as good as their cousin, they would be pleasant to have around. But there are a lot of attractive people… so… why these two? I didn't believe for a second that she was really all that interested in just making beloved pet Hadley happy. I looked back at the picture. They really were quite beautiful, and the more I looked at them, it seemed as if there was more to their beauty. I wondered if that were really true, or if I was just looking for it to be true. Tilting my head to the side as I looked at them I realized that this particular photograph had captured a… what was it?... aura… glow about them? I shook my head; I couldn't be right about that.

Pam came in from her closing duties. I looked up from my computer, and she asked, "So what did the missive say? Do we care? Or… Are we going to involve ourselves in something interesting, adventurous? And what's with those sideburns? Not to mention the Dockers khakis. And the Henley shirt? Is his greatest ambition to become a lumber jack?"

I loved that Pam could make me grin, usually because she was such a style snob. "Look at this Pamela," I said as I pointed to the computer screen. She bent over the computer and looked. "I believe these are the 'assets' Bill was sent to procure."

She actually did gasp, and then she was silent for a moment as she took in the picture of the siblings. She straightened up and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "Well, they certainly are pretty… Surely Sophie Ann isn't just trying to kidnap various attractive people from around the state… So, what gives?"

"I'm not entirely sure. The 'missive' from Sophie Ann stated that the assets Compton was to procure were brother-sister relatives of her 'beloved pet Hadley' from Bon Temps," I stated with the requisite, silly air quotes. "I had Raphael look into it, and here they are. But these two are well-established. Their sudden absence would be noticed, big time. Just look at their resume of work and the Angie's List recommendations. I don't know what she's thinking. My best guess is that she hasn't done any research on them at all other than what beloved pet Hadley has told her. She completely doesn't understand the social media world we live in now." I thought about it for a moment, and I growled. Keeping up with the world around us is, and always has been, essential to vampire survival. That was true in times past, and it is especially true in the digital age. Hell, it's one of the reasons vampires decided it was time to reveal ourselves. Fucking Sophie Ann. She thinks she can do whatever she wants, but if two high-profile, social-media connected people disappear from my area, I'm the one who's going to have to clean up the mess.

As I exited Fangtasia I took to the sky flying toward Bonne Chance Casino. I wanted to give an in depth look at the landscaping. I'd seen it before, but only in the periphery of my consciousness as I walked through the property. I'd never really focused on it. My manager had hired the landscaping company; it was something I had never even given a thought to. I landed at the back of the parking lot behind the complex and walked at human speed toward the rear entrance. Even as I walked through the parking lot I noticed little 'islands' of greenery separating rows of parking. Each little island could have been great with just well-maintained grass with neat trimming, but there were flowers and plant sculpting all along the way. These parking berms basically should have been throw-away areas, but that someone decided they should look beautiful. I finally reached the back door and entered the hotel. I cast an eye around and noticed for the first time the indoor gardens. I had been very proud of this property in the past since, after all, we had been listed as one of the most elegant 'getaways' in Louisiana in Conde Naste, but now I know that one of the reasons for my pride was the elegance I'd never noticed before – especially the indoor landscaping. The large planter boxes situated around the lobby, casino, and other indoor spaces were amazing, and I realized that good landscaping doesn't draw attention to itself; it is beautiful and adds to the overall ambience without saying 'hey, look at me!' As I continued walking the entire property I made a note to myself to give a bonus to my manager for his acumen at hiring an undoubtedly superior company to lift the beauty and elegance of this business.

Fucking Sophie Ann. I thought I wanted to get the assets before her just because I thought they might be interesting, useful, and fun to play with; plus I love to screw with Sophie Ann and get away with it. Now it looks as if I'm going to have to stop her before she destroys the entire public Louisiana vampire infrastructure. If the Authority has to step in to clean up a public relations nightmare, many, many vampire heads will roll. And since this is my area… well, I didn't want to contemplate the possible negative consequences. It occurred to me that this just became a _mission_ to save me and mine, as well as the Stackhouse siblings.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – First Impressions

I arrived at my favorite home in Shreveport about two hours before sunrise; I had more than five homes in the Shreveport area (more than = homes that even my child Pamela didn't know about). Some would call that overkill, but I hadn't lived for over a thousand years for nothing. I grabbed a bag of blood from the otherwise empty refrigerator to heat for my meal, walked to my study/office and booted up the computer. As I 'chowed down', I decided to catch up on the international news on both the television mounted on the wall of the office and on the screen of my computer. I've always thought that everyone, especially vampires, should stay abreast of breaking news. You never know when it may directly impact you, and it has on several occasions, mostly when news wasn't as up to the moment as it is now. Hmmm… the bad-haircut idiot running North Korea is flexing his atomic muscles… the Christian right is opposed to gay marriage… and one of the Kardashians has done something with someone, somewhere… So… It must be Tuesday…

While on the computer, I decided to do a little more research. I entered the name Jason Stackhouse. Surprisingly, the screen showed that there were over a thousand hits. I started at the top… co-owner of The Enchanted Forest, blah blah blah… Angie's List blah blah blah… Facebook… Then lots and lots of news stories from the sports departments of several area and state-wide news outlets, both print and broadcast. Then I entered the name Sookie Stackhouse. Not nearly so many hits. Co-owner of The Enchanted Forest… Angie's List… mentions of academic merit… Facebook… a few non-sport high school achievements… a few articles on her representation of Renard Parish at the Miss Louisiana pageant, with special attention paid to her controversial stances on human (racial and sexual orientation) and vampire equality… and then not much else. … Wow, I liked this girl… She had what they called in the old days – moxey. There was one curious article in the Bon Temps paper from about ten years ago about 9th grader Sookie Stackhouse helping the police to find a missing boy. There weren't a lot of details about her help, but the fact that she was helping at all seemed unusual and mysterious.

An email check showed that Raphael had sent me something:

Northman,

Still yet to do a lot of deep searching, but here are school transcripts for the Stackhouses.

One curious thing, I searched through my backdoor to the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) for information. As you may be aware the MIB is nationwide and contains medical information on any person in the US who has sought medical care/help. Normally this information is not accessible by the public or even law enforcement under the federal privacy act, and it is mainly used by insurance underwriters. There are strict regulations on access to that info, but as I mentioned, I created my own backdoor. That's why you pay me the big bucks. Anyway, there is record of _injuries_ to the Stackhouses – childhood injuries and sports injuries – but oddly, absolutely no record of any illnesses, vaccinations, or the need for any non-injury-related healthcare at all. As far as I can tell neither of them has ever been sick, and they do not even appear to have a family doctor.

I thought this was strange enough to enter MIB searches on the rest of the family, and I came up with normally expected illnesses for all the other family members, including details of Linda Delahoussay's cancer. Even Hadley had the normal childhood illnesses – colds, tonsils out at a young age, etc. But no illnesses whatsoever officially documented for Jason and Sookie. (FYI, the last report of any health care for the absent Stanley Delahoussay was about 6 months ago in St. Louis. He had an ingrown toenail.)

I'll keep you posted as I gather more info.

R

I opened the attached transcript files. Jason's grades were mostly B's, sprinkled with a few A's and C's; so a little above average, if I understood the American school grading system. Sookie, on the other hand, had transcripts with more uniformity – all A's – both in high school and college. It's no wonder she got an academic scholarship. Her high school transcript was stamped "Valedictorian", and her college transcript was stamped "Summa Cum Laude".

Centenary College was considered one of the finest private liberal arts colleges in the country, this much I knew. And she graduated summa cum laude, with highest honors. She could have gone to any graduate school in the nation – which might explain her entry into the beauty pageant/scholarship program, or she could have entered into the business or industry field easily. But she created this business with her brother instead. Granted $200,000+ per annum profits within three years was pretty amazing for this type of business, especially if the siblings took regular salaries. I hope Raphael gets me some of their business records so I can find out.

By the time I finished looking over this last batch of information it was a little past dawn. I quickly showered to remove the stench of Fangtasia off of me before I died for the day. When I finally crawled into bed I thought about everything for about another ten minutes before succumbing to the sun. My last thought was of anticipation for more information from Raphael, and I decided to visit The Enchanted Forest before heading to Fangtasia tonight.

My eyes opened wide at exactly 4:38 that afternoon. That was rather earlier than normal, but, ah well. I rolled to the left out of my bed and stretched – not because I needed to, but because it just felt good. I did this most afternoons when I woke. Even though it was still several hours before I could leave home, I enjoyed this afternoon alone time. This was MY time to do with as I wished, and every day I tried to make the most of it. Some days I read or watched TV; usually I also checked in on my businesses and investments. Much younger vampires would still be asleep until almost dark. I occasionally wondered how the ones with jobs found their ME time. They would have to grow much older to earn that.

By the calendar I may be over 1000 years old, but if lives were measured by aware or awake time, then I was only half that age. Ah… the half life of the vampire. Being an older vampire gave me the luxury of this late afternoon ME time. Sure, humans needed sleep, but they could ultimately choose when their sleep time came. Vampires weren't so lucky. We're stronger and basically invincible, but we were also slaves to the sun. Unfortunately, that vulnerability was not lost on the radical groups that hated vampires. Even now I was sure they were calculating ways to use that against us. That was one more thing we needed to learn how to defend against. The best we could do for now was to ensure that our daytime accommodations were impregnable and fireproof, not to mention hard to find. Hence my ownership of homes that even my child didn't know about. I'm pretty sure that I taught her well enough that she had resting places that even I didn't know about.

I put on a pair of comfortable pants and walked over to my computer. I always left it on, so I just had to swish the mouse around to bring it to life. While waiting for it to boot on, I grabbed the remote sitting on the desk and flipped on the TV. CNN was telling me that the latest political campaign was heating up; due to police violence, Americans were becoming more divided along racial lines; and a popular Hollywood actor just got pulled over and charged with a DUI… Must be Wednesday. I noticed several new emails waiting for me. Several were dealing with various businesses I owned, and I dealt with them right away before I got to the email I was really interested in – the one from Raphael:

Northman,

I've attached copies of tax returns and business statements for the Stackhouses and The Enchanted Forest. These documents speak for themselves.

A few things stand out in my investigation into these siblings:

A further look into the MIB reveals that neither Jason nor Sookie seem to have been born in a hospital. I haven't found any details of home birth, but I can't find anything that documents their births. This would be very unusual for the time.

There are rumors of "special talents" for both of them. People in Bon Temps weren't very forthcoming about the specific nature of these talents, but the implications were clear… there's something unusual about these two. Some even categorized the siblings as "strange". Overall, however, they both seem to be very well liked.

Sookie Stackhouse has been in graduate school in botany at Texas A & M University for the past two years. She is on schedule to complete her Masters degree this semester, and indications show that she has already enrolled in classes for the doctoral program for next semester. Her programs are largely online, but she seems to attend class in person quite regularly. Even though A & M is relatively close (about 195 miles away) that's quite the commute for someone.

Jason is reputed to have a "very active sex life". He is well-known around town as, in polite terms a lady's man, and in less polite conversation as a "horndog". His sister, however, is quite the opposite. She leads a very quiet life without any discernible romantic entanglements. Considering the amount of time running a successful business must take in addition to her graduate studies, it's not surprising she's not romantically involved.

That's all for now…

R

One of my favorite things about Raphael was that he sent me updates as he received them, and he would use bullet-point format for quicker reading. There might be more information coming, but he always gave me the lowdown as he got it so I could use it as soon as possible.

Well, well, well… This beautiful girl was, for all intents and purposes, free… unclaimed, up for the taking in the human and vampire world. Hmmmm… I needed to set that aside for now. The fact remained that Sophie Ann was trying to remove two very public humans from their lives. You can't glamour an entire town or parish… or state for that matter… into forgetting these two. Crap, yet more evidence that our queen was more and more unequal to the job.

I continued to mull all of this information over as I put my feet up on the corner of my desk and watched two back to back half hour episodes of Judge Judy – I'm a fan, what can I say? – besides, her show is always good for a giggle for enjoying the lowest and dumbest strata of humanity. And what is with the women's hairstyles on that show? Then I watched Jeopardy in which I would have so completely won – thank you, yet again, vampire total recall. Hmmmm…. Still time to go till sunset… In the local Shreveport news, one of the city council members was trying to push for more public lighting in the city. Apparently there were entire neighborhoods still relatively in the dark. I tried to figure if that was a vampire slam, and I decided that it probably wasn't. Now it was big time decision time… Family Feud with Steve Harvey or Wheel of Fortune… Decisions, decisions, decisions… I'd read that Wheel of Fortune was a show that senior citizens liked to watch… Pretty sure no one was more senior than this citizen; however I opted for the comedy of Steve Harvey. Whew… life decisions handled.

Finally, the sun set. I hopped into my SUV instead of my corvette because I decided my story was that I was going to The Enchanted Forest under the guise of possibly buying some plants for my home. I had a yard service for each of my houses, but I might just want to hire a new service to do some landscaping at my "home". I worked on my story on the drive to Bon Temps. I would start with just wanting some plants, and let the discussion lead to landscaping. That would seem innocent enough, I think.

I pulled into the driveway next to the mailbox marked 234 Hummingbird Lane, with a small discreet sign for The Enchanted Forest below the house address marker. As I made my way down the driveway, I noticed a well-kept farmhouse on the right, and about 25 yards further down the driveway was a quonset type office building with The Enchanted Forest signage on the front of it. There were even striped parking spaces in front of it. I pulled in and looked around. Nothing really outstanding leapt out about the business. I went inside hoping to see the siblings, but instead there was a flamboyantly dressed African-American man sitting behind a counter busy at work on his computer. He greeted me with "Welcome to the Enchanted Forest, how may I help you?" without looking up from his computer screen.

"I'm looking for some night-blooming flowers." He finally looked up at me, and he did a classic comedy-film double-take.

"Damn…" was all he said at first. Then he stood and walked over and leaned with his forearms on the counter that separated us. "Well, I sure as hell hopes we can helps you," he added flirtatiously. Then I think he batted his false eyelashes, although it looked very strange to me, and I'm not entirely sure. Then he smiled and added, "let me get someone who can help you with that…" and he walked through the door at the back of the office. I drummed my fingers on the counter for about 20 seconds before he walked back through that door with the man I knew to be Jason Stackhouse with him. Jason walked up to the counter with a pad and pen.

"Lafayette tells me you are looking for some night-bloomers?" he paused for a second looking me up and down. I desperately tried not to contemplate the various meanings of the word 'bloomers' over the ages. He was wearing a fitted, slightly sweaty black tank top tucked into army green cargo pants. The clothing accentuated how very fit and tan his body was. I dared to inhale deeply, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise at the pleasing aroma. Conversely, his eyes narrowed, and he asked, "You a vampire?"

"What makes you ask that?" I inquired. He shrugged as if it didn't really matter, but I had to ask, "Is that a problem?"

There was a moment's pause as I sensed something intense coming from him as he over-carefully observed me with his bright blue eyes. Finally he came to some decision about me before he said, "Nah… I was just curious. We hardly ever have vampires in here. Mostly we deal with their, uh, employees. But we've done a lot of work for vamps and other supes. No offense…"

"None taken, but yes, I'm a vampire. I really am looking for some night-blooming plants for my home. Do you have any?" Again, I had that feeling of something intense coming from him. Mostly, it just made me want to smile, and I was not known for being a smiling vampire. Curiouser and curiouser, as Lewis Carroll would say… Plus, I was surprised at his easy mention of other supes, since only vampires had revealed themselves to the humans. With his scent, his intensity, he was definitely something "other", but I couldn't quite decipher what other…

"My sister has been grafting more and more flowering plants to be night bloomers. She's doing it specifically with vampires in mind. So your options are a lot more wide open than you might think," he paused. "How did you hear about us?"

"Angie's list," I responded. He tilted his head to the side again; I got the distinct impression that he wasn't buying it. "Plus your website. I was surprised to learn that you had already done the landscaping for a property I own…"

His eyebrows rose at that admission; I always believed that a little truth never hurt. "Which property is that?" he asked, and again I felt this intensity from him. Was he glamouring me in some way? Was that why I had the overwhelming impulse to smile as I was offering so much truth?

"The Bonne Chance Casino. I was there last night and for the first time I noticed a lot of the landscaping details. My manager told me who he had hired for the job. I gave him a bonus for that, by the way…" Why was I telling him that?

"It's really strange. We've never had a vampire customer… directly, anyway, and you're our second one tonight. Our new neighbor is a vampire, apparently, and he stopped by earlier," he scratched the back of his head and continued. "Do you know Bill Compton?" he asked as he tilted his head again and looked at me with that strange intensity.

"I do. He stopped by to sign into the area last night."

"Sign into the area?"

"Yes, I'm the local vampire sheriff. All vampires moving into the area must check in with me." Wait. What? Why the hell was I volunteering all this information? Why did it bother me so much when a wide smile broke on Jason's face. And why the fucking hell was I smiling back at him? "What did Mr. Compton want?"

The man called Lafayette stepped forward to answer that question. "He was asking for Jason and Sookie, but they was out on a job site. Seems he wanted to introduce himself to his neighbors. But he was asking a lot of questions about them. A lot of personal questions. He tried that glamour thing y'all do, but it don't work on me. That seemed to upset him some."

"Glamour doesn't work on you? Why is that?" I'd never heard of that before… unless this Lafayette was some kind of supe himself. But what kind, I wondered; he didn't smell like some kind of were. He and Jason exchanged smirking looks.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" he answered coyly. "But you, big man, wouldn't need that with me if you was interested in getting to know me better." And then he winked. At me. I did the only thing that I could. I laughed. Both of them joined me.

Shaking his head and chuckling, Jason added softly, "Lafayette, back off dude."

But Lafayette just looked at Jason, "But he's so big and pretty…"

"Feel free to ignore Lafayette, Mr. ….?"

"Northman, Eric Northman." And with that he raised the center part of the counter that was hinged, and gestured for me to follow him.

"I'll show you some things in the main greenhouse first." I followed him through the back door of the office while Lafayette added, "MmmmHmmm."

I felt the warm humidity of the greenhouse instantly. The business was deceptive from the front because this greenhouse was HUGE! It went straight back from the office quonset. There were plants and flowers of every kind exhibited to perfection with bright lights, and Jason pointed a lot of them out as we passed through.

Jason turned half back to me as he continued leading me toward the back of the greenhouse. "Don't let Lafayette fool ya' none. We take our business here very seriously. I think you'll like some of the work my sister has been doin'." We finally reached the back of the greenhouse and exited through a rear door. I could discern that there were at least three more greenhouses of various sizes behind the main one. Jason led me to one on the left. When we went inside it I was a little surprised at the different atmosphere. Instead of the bright "grow" lights, this one had more subdued bluish lighting. Of course, I could see just fine.

"Sorry it's so much darker in here; this greenhouse is mainly Sookie's, my sister's. These are all night-blooming plants. Over there are Evening Primroses, fairly common, but pretty. Beyond that is a little pond with Night Bloom Water Lilies, so if you have a pond situation…" He just let that statement hang there. He began pointing to various places in the greenhouse as he spoke, "we have Four O'Clocks, Moon Flowers, and if money is no object we have a few Casablanca Lilies over there." We arrived at the back of the greenhouse. "This here is Sookie's Masters thesis project, Night Gladiolus. Normally, they are a really pale yellow with these pinkish streaks," he said as he pointed to the standard of the flower. "But she's been doing some grafts to get additional colors and scents," he concluded with pride in his sister's work. I looked on with more than a little awe at the bright fuschia, blue, and coral colored gladioli. They were truly works of art.

"Beautiful. All I can say is… wow." I walked closer to inspect her handiwork. She had created something very special. Jason started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"I've never met a vampire, but I didn't expect to get a 'wow' out of one," he smiled.

"Over the years, especially before the reveal, we had to work hard to incorporate human speech and slang into our habits. Plus that was a really honest reaction to what your sister has created," I paused. "Where is she?"

He seemed to think something over before he turned to answer my question. "I believe she's in class tonight. She finishes her Masters Degree at the end of this semester. Why you askin'?"

I thought for a moment about what he might find a satisfactory answer. "These flowers are unbelievable. I just would like to meet her and tell her." He then did that quirky little head tilt thing that I was beginning to interpret as his way of knowing there was either more to tell, or I was full of shit. So I indulged him. "Plus, as I said, I looked at your website. Your sister is very beautiful. And I always enjoy meeting a beautiful woman." I smirked at him when he began to grin.

"Yah, she's pretty enough. Would've been Miss Louisiana if she would've stayed with safe topics for her question and answer session. But Sook's pretty passionate about the things she believes in. Can't really fault her for that."

"Are you planning on mass marketing these hybrids?"

"Not sure. Right now, they are mainly her project for school. They are kind of expensive to create, at least initially, so we would need to do a real cost analysis and marketing plan." Smart idea.

"I think these could really sell, especially to vampires. After all, all we have is the night. I might be interested in investing and helping with the marketing. And not just locally; I think these could have national, hell, international appeal. I have connections all over the planet." Jackpot! This would not only be a sound investment for me, but also it would insinuate me into their lives in a genuine way. This legitimate business partnership could never be construed as 'impeding dickwad Compton's efforts'.

The look on Jason's face could only be described as incredulous. "International, eh? I'm not sure we're currently set up for that."

"Maybe you could be. I mean, do you think Mr. Bell invented the telephone just to be used in his hometown? I knew him, by the way," I smirked at him and enjoyed when his eyes widened. "Mr. Stackhouse… Jason… I've lived for a long time, and I've made quite a few fortunes over the years. I have resources you can't contemplate. I've gotten wealthy time and again by knowing when to strike… when to invest. Trust me when I say, that these hybrids are very marketable; the vampire market is larger and wealthier than you might imagine, and they love their luxuries. Obviously, these plants won't have the wide-spread, mass appeal of the telephone, but they would still be very, very lucrative investments for me… and quite the money-makers for your business. You did say she was developing these with vampires in mind…"

I watched him as he stared into the space in front of him, as if looking at mathematical business formulas on an imaginary blackboard, while he took in my words. "Well, I'll talk it over with Sookie, but truth be told, we don't know you, Mr. Northman. We've done pretty good all on our own so far. I don't know how she's going to feel about all this."

"That's all I can ask. I would really like for you to 'get to know me', but I don't want to pressure you. If we can make some money together… great. If not, well, I would still enjoy having some of these at my home. As they say, no harm, no foul."

He chuckled. "Good enough. I'll talk to Sookie about this as soon as I can. I won't probably see her until tomorrow. Is there a number where we can reach you?"

"Absolutely," I said as I dug my wallet out of the pocket inside my leather jacket and handed him my card. "I truly hope I hear from you both soon."

"I'll walk you back to the office," Jason offered with a gesture of his hand. We walked for a bit in a slightly awkward silence before I asked, "So, how did you know I was a vampire?"

He stopped walking for a minute without turning to face me. "Because of your glow."

"My glow?" How could he see that? This just confirmed what I had already concluded, that he was some kind of supe.

He shrugged again, and started walking once more toward the office. As if the silence between us was bothering him, he added, "You like football? I mean do vamps like stuff like that? Does it bother you if I ask vamp questions?"

"No, it's fine. Some vampires would mind, but I don't. Actually, I enjoy football very much. I'm particularly fond of the Minnesota Vikings."

"Why them over all the rest?"

I allowed a small smirk, "Well… in my human life, I was a Viking."

"You played football in Minnesota? You're sure big enough."

"No, you misunderstand. I was an actual Viking… In Scandinavia, Sweden specifically, more than a thousand years ago." He stopped and turned around to look at me.

"Shut up, no way… That is so cool." He turned around and continued walking, shaking his head as if to absorb that information. "So you're really European. You don't have much of an accent."

I chuckled, "Yeah, well, I've been speaking English for a few centuries now."

"You should meet my Gran; she loves history. I'm sure she'd pick your brain just 'bout clean," he laughed opening the back door to the office. "And speak of the devil, Hey Gran, I've got someone I'd like you to meet." He gestured for me to enter into the office, and I saw an older woman standing on the other side of the counter across from Lafayette. "What are you doin' here, Gran?"

She looked me up and down as she answered, "I was coming out to see if you and Lafayette wanted to come into the house for supper. I made fried chicken," she practically sang. "Who is this most handsome gentleman?"

"Gran, this is Eric Northman. He's a vampire who is interested in maybe investing in some of Sook's night bloomers. Mr. Northman, this is my Gran, Adele Stackhouse."

I let myself through the hinged counter opening and took her hand, "The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Stackhouse. Your grandson tells me you are a history buff."

"Indeed I am, young man. So you're a vampire, eh? Were you by any chance around during the civil war?"

"I assume you mean the American civil war?" I asked and she nodded. "I was in Europe during that war, so I kind of missed it, sorry. Although, I'd be happy to give you the European perspective of what happened during that time."

"He was a Viking, Gran, an actual Viking."

"Oh, my stars. You must be pretty old, then. I can't imagine all that you've seen, lived through. I would just love to talk with you some, Mr. Northman."

"Please, call me Eric."

"And you must call me Adele."

"I'm hoping that your grandchildren and I can do some business together, so maybe I'll be seeing you from time to time. I'd be most pleased to answer any historical questions you might have." And hopefully get to know your grandchildren better. She may be another way in with them. I gave her my most dazzling smile in the process. She was so… cute, and she blushed at my smile. Bingo, you've still got it, Northman.

"You said you made fried chicken?" Jason asked.

"Yes, I did," she answered without turning to look at him. She finally took her hand from mine, and I swear she giggled. "It was truly enchanting to meet you, Mr. Northman… Eric. I do hope you and my grandbabies do that business you were mentioning. I would love to talk more with you." As long as I'd lived in the south, I'd never seen such blatant Southern hospitality and charm. I found myself _wanting_ to talk to her more, myself.

"I'll let you get to your meal. Please discuss my proposal with your sister when you get the chance; I'd love to work with you both. Call me at your earliest convenience; you'll understand if I don't answer during the day," I smiled and nodded, "Lafayette, Adele," and made my exit through the front office door.

I chuckled as I walked to my car, and I heard Lafayette say softly, "Hope to see _you_ again, tall, dead, and handsome…"

AN: So, here is chapter 2. I had pre-written the first two chapters before I posted. The third chapter, unfortunately, is still in the writing process, and I'm not a super fast writer. Please be patient for updates.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Joy to the World

I walked through the back door of Fangtasia, and I was humming. HUMMING! Where did that come from? I felt ridiculously happy, and I realized that I'd felt that way since I left The Enchanted Forest. Pam was standing in front of my office door with her arms crossed in front of her.

"What the hell is up with you?"

"Why, whatever do you mean, Pamela?" And I walked past her, still humming. I took off my leather jacket and tossed it across the room to the coat rack. SCORE! It landed perfectly on one of the hooks, and I plopped down into my desk chair, laced my fingers together across my stomach, and turned to her. Humming.

"Ever since I rose tonight I've felt this, this…" she stuttered, " this vile … happiness from you. What gives?"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't get me wrong, Eric, I always want you to be satisfied and, well yes, happy, but this is different. For Christ's sake, you're humming, Eric. You don't hum. I've never heard you hum. Ever. What's with the humming? It's really… creepy."

"Creepy, eh? Hmmm… Well, I am a vampire. Isn't a certain amount of creep-factor expected?" I asked her in my admittedly bad Bela Lugosi imitation.

"Knock it off; you're freaking me out!" she practically screeched. She breathed deeply to calm herself down. Pam rarely raised her voice, let alone screeched. I stopped humming, and we looked at each other for several moments. "What the hell, Eric?"

"I went to The Enchanted Forest tonight."

"And… you… what? Fell under some humming enchantment? Were goblins involved?" she snarked.

I couldn't help it; I started riotously laughing, which only made Pamela more alarmed, from the look on her face, which made me laugh even harder. "Relax, Pam. I went to The Enchanted Forest – the greenhouse/nursery. I met with the brother half of the siblings. I really enjoyed myself."

"You enjoyed yourself? And …why, exactly?"

"I… I don't know _exactly_."

"You met the brother? Not the sister? And you're humming, smiling, laughing and all manner of disgusting happiness things?" she paused. "I saw his picture, and, admittedly, he's quite handsome if you are currently leaning that way, but really, Eric? You're positively giddy."

It was then that I caught her genuine dismay through our maker/child bond. I really didn't know why I felt so good. I thought it all over. I'd had a pleasant experience at the business, but not so much that I should feel _this_ good. Well, fuck! I was picking up on Pamela's concern. Did Jason Stackhouse give me some kind of joy whammy? I needed to give this some fairly serious consideration. I knew from my meeting with him that he couldn't be entirely human, but this was something on an entirely different level.

"These siblings… they are something other than human, I think … no … I _know_." I looked at her. "I haven't met the sister yet, but the brother, Jason, was very charming and accommodating. And he smelled delicious. I really enjoyed his company; maybe more than I can account for. And, they have an amazing and successful business. If Sophie Ann gets her over-manicured hands on them, it's going to be a big mess. They are very well connected. Their absence would most certainly be more than noticed."

"Well, fuck a duck, Eric. What are you going to do?"

"I made a proposal to Jason tonight. His sister Sookie has created these amazing night blooming gladioli hybrids, and I offered to invest in them and help market them to vampires – internationally. If they take me up on my offer, then I may be able to save them contractually from the clutches of Sophie Ann."

"So, you're going to invest heavily in them to save them?"

"This isn't some frivolous investment just for appearances, Pamela. The flowers were amazing! This girl has grafted night-blooming flowers specifically for vampires. The colors, the scents - amazing. She has the 'know-how' with the plants, and I have the connections to make this a sound, world-wide business venture. If Sophie Ann comes after them, I can honestly say that they were my business partners. How was I to know that they were the ones she sent her 'esteemed' procurer after? Hopefully, that would be enough, at least, to forestall her. I'm trying to save the vampires of Louisiana from a public relations nightmare here. Sophie Ann has absolutely no, and I mean **NO** , understanding of the digital world. She wants what she wants, no matter what. This brother and sister are incredibly well-known and socially connected. Not just socially connected, but social _media_ connected – Facebook, Angie's List, LinkedIn, and more, not to mention their own business and its website, along with their fairly high-profile clientele. Her abduction of them would be catastrophic for vampires in this state. Sophie Ann is about to bring Armageddon onto the vampires of Louisiana."

Pam cocked her head up to the ceiling, and asked, "And we care, why?"

"Because, Pamela, when the shit hits the fan for their disappearance, the Authority is going to realize this happened in Area 5 of Louisiana. _Our area_. Whose heads do you think are going to roll?" I watched her take in this information, and I swear I could see when the light bulb went off over her head.

"Then we can't let this happen, Eric. How can I help?"

"There are several things we have to do. First, we need to figure out exactly what these siblings are. If they are some kind of supe, and I'm positive they are, then they may have some protection of their own in place against Sophie Ann. That would be so helpful. Hell, even their co-worker is some kind of supe, I believe. Not a Were, but something."

"How do you know this?"

"Apparently he's immune to glamour. He admitted that to me himself. I'm going to have Raphael look into this guy, too."

"You tried to glamour him?"

"No, but Compton did. He was there earlier in the evening to 'introduce' himself to his new neighbors. Neither Jason nor Sookie were in at the time, and this guy didn't seem to like him much."

"Sounds like this guy is a good judge of character."

I chuckled, "Well, he was extremely flirtatious with me."

"Like I said, good judge of character," she smirked. "OK, after we figure out what kind of supes they all are, then what?"

"Two things – I've asked Raphael to set up surveillance on Compton, and I need you to monitor that for me. At the beginning and end of each evening, I need you to let me know if anything of interest occurs, or if Raphael alerts us to anything. I'll let him know I've assigned this to you. Then, I work on getting them to trust me, and we all come up with a strategy to stave off Sophie Ann together. I think I'm going to have to level with them about why Compton is here. I was instructed by Sophie Ann not to 'impede his efforts', but being honest with them seems the only way to go. I'm not sure how or why, but I think Jason has some kind of really accurate internal bullshit detector. I mean, I could tell somehow when he was thinking I wasn't giving him the whole truth." I thought for a minute. "I'm going to call Raphael to get information on Lafayette."

She cocked her head quizzically. "Lafayette? The city between Lake Charles and Baton Rouge?"

Now that was genuinely funny, and I laughed. Again. Before Pam could start to panic again, I answered, "no, the co-worker; his name is Lafayette." Even Pam chuckled a little at that one. "I'm also going to call Mr. Cataliades to start drawing up a business prospectus and a preliminary contract for investing in these hybrids. I don't know a lot of the details, but I'm sure he'll know how to get started, and he can give me an idea of some of the questions I'll need to ask. It would be really helpful to know more about the process for successfully shipping plants overseas."

"It seems you have calmed down some. I need to get the club opened, so I'll leave you to it. Let me know if I can do anything else to help," she said as she turned and walked to the door. She turned back to me before she left, "And Eric, if _I'm_ ever acting that ridiculous, you have my permission to stake me." And with that, she was out of my office.

Although that parting remark caused me to smirk, I felt overall as if I were 'sobering up'. I very uncharacteristically shook my head as if to clear it. If Jason was indeed responsible for that happiness, that was some powerful mojo. Could he be a witch? I've had some experiences with witches in the past, some good and some not so good. Who knew I'd drive out to bumfuck Bon Temps in the middle of nowhere Louisiana and find frickin' Harry Potter?

* * *

My call to Raphael got his voice mail, and I left him a message about needing the info on Lafayette. After that I called Mr. Cataliades. We had a lengthy discussion about the contract I needed, and the business I wanted to invest in. Interestingly, he seemed a little taken aback when I told him the names of my potential partners. When asked, he didn't elaborate and assured me that he would do his best to see to my legal and business needs. Again, curiouser and curiouser.

After those phone calls, I handled my sheriff business. Mostly I was dealing with disputes over a couple pets (yawn), and some requests for permission to open a couple of new businesses. I always left the pet scenario decisions up to the humans in question, since they were the ones most directly affected. I did my best to assure that their actual needs were being met, and not the needs that may have been glamoured into them. Don't get me wrong, I'm no saint, but for practical reasons, it was in everyone's best interests to make sure that no humans were mistreated. Plus, it just really pissed me off when vampires abused their humans. So… maybe I am a little bit of a saint. Which, I guess, is really ironic for someone who was never a Christian.

After that it was time for my nightly throne sentence. When I had first opened Fangtasia, I had foolishly thought that the throne duty (which was totally Pam's idea) was going to be… well not quite _fun,_ but close to it. Now it was just something I had to endure. So many of the humans in the club quite literally offered themselves up to me as I imagine human Thanksgiving feasts would be. And it was very frustrating to me that the more I rejected them, the more crazed in their offers they became. Seriously, does the Thanksgiving turkey beg to be eaten? Does the green bean casserole I've read about jockey for position with the candied yams?

Before I could get too far down the road with these human food musings, my phone alerted me to a new email message. It was from Raphael:

Northman,

Sorry I missed your message earlier. I was finishing with placing the surveillance equipment on Compton. Then I went to Merlotte's bar/restaurant in Bon Temps. This is the most prominent gathering place in town. I found Compton there attempting with varying success on glamouring the local populace about the Stackhouse siblings. Hell, he even came to my booth and tried to glamour me. Thank God, I'm a Were and can't be glamoured, so I just flipped him off. All he was able to ascertain was the same information I already sent you. These siblings are "different", but well-liked. Otherwise, the town has basically "closed ranks" around them. I don't know if that's because they are loyal, or more likely they just don't know why the Stackhouses are different.

I got your request about their co-worker, whose full name I have discovered is Lafayette Reynolds. I don't have any information on him yet except that he and the Stackhouses have been friends since childhood. As I understand it, he's considered by Adele Stackhouse as another grandchild. All of this information comes from the "bar-talk" at Merlottes. I'll get more specifics to you as soon as I can.

R

Fucking Compton. Luckily he wasn't having much success with his glamouring campaign, but you had to give him an 'A' for effort. Although he was fairly accomplished as a procurer, according to his reputation, I was beginning to believe that his success was generally attributable to luck rather than some innate talent. He didn't seem to me to be overly-intelligent. However, I had observed him as he released his charms on unsuspecting humans in the past. He used those charms with unexplained and unbelievable success. Generally, I respected humans, but their tendency to succumb to Compton's somewhat limited abilities didn't make sense to me. Perhaps it was a vampire gift I just didn't understand because he just seemed like a total schmuck to me. But… I haven't been human for a very long time. As much as I try to keep up with the human condition, and I try very hard to be as up with humans as I can be, it's possible that I've lost some touches here and there. However, I have to believe that I'm more in touch with humans than Compton; if, for no other reason, than I know that he doesn't actually like them. But liking and understanding can be very different ideas. Ah well, maybe someday I'll figure this out. Meanwhile, I need to do all I can to keep him from exercising these questionable charms on the Stackhouse siblings. Or their friends and family.

That gave me pause. If Sookie is a clever as Jason, and I had every reason to believe she would be more so, then where was their weak link? As I contemplated this question, I had an epiphantic OMG moment. Their grandmother! She was apparently very interested in the civil war, which Compton was a veteran of, and she seemed to me to be totally human. Plus, she was old and frail. She _was_ their weak link. I don't know where their supernatural relations came into the equation, but if, if I suspected, she was as human as I thought, she was glamourable, vulnerable. I needed to get someone to protect her.

I looked around the club, and I saw my answer. Thalia. She was perfect. She was the most dour vampire I'd ever met, and ironically she was named for the Greek muse of comedy. I also knew she hated having to put time into Fangtasia. She absolutely hated being around humans. And because she was so overt with her hatred, of course, she had an ever-growing human fan club. I looked in her direction and whispered her name. She flashed to my side.

I kept my voice low enough that the other vampires in the club couldn't hear our conversation. "Thalia, I have a job for you. If you take it, you will be free of your obligation to present yourself at Fangtasia during the interim."

"What do I need to do?" she asked, almost eagerly.

"There is a human in Bon Temps, about 35 miles east of here. I'm concerned that Bill Compton will try to glamour or harm her to get to her grandchildren. I would like for you to keep an eye on her. If want you to prevent Compton from getting to her. If, somehow, he gets to her, I would like for you to let me know, and also to counteract any glamouring he might accomplish with her, if you can. What makes this particularly difficult, is that I don't want Compton to know that you are doing this."

"Bill Compton? He is a douchenozzle."

I couldn't help but snort a chuckle in response. "I agree. I'm trying to make sure the vampires of Louisiana are not compromised by his actions. Can I count on you for help?"

"Absolutely. Who is this human?"

"Her name is Adele Stackhouse. She is an elderly woman who lives at 234 Hummingbird Lane in Bon Temps. Her grandchildren, Jason and Sookie, are in danger of being kidnapped by Sophie Ann. I'm trying to prevent that without her knowing it. Can you help me?"

"Of course. If I may ask, why does our queen want them?"

"Her 'beloved pet Hadley,' again with the ridiculous air quotes, and she nodded her head in recognition, "is their cousin. For some reason Sophie Ann wants them, too. I believe they are not entirely human, and that may be why she wants them. However, their disappearance from our area would create huge problems for me and mine. Hence, why I need to protect them. Obviously, we would need to keep all of this from Sophie Ann."

"Sophie Ann is an idiot. You didn't hear me say that."

"Excellent, we are on the same page," I smirked. "You are hereby assigned to this new duty." She nodded. "And Thalia, if you have cause to meet Adele, try to be nice."

She cocked her head to the side in question. Just because vampires didn't normally associate with humans in the past, didn't mean that we didn't appreciate them. Especially the ones worthy of our care and respect.

"Adele seems like a nice lady. It would be most unfortunate, not to mention inopportune, if anything untoward happened to her."

She reluctantly nodded and vamp-sped off, I would assume, to Bon Temps. I felt sure that Thalia was totally loyal to me as it also occurred to me that Bill Compton's mission was quickly becoming the worst kept secret in Louisiana. Thalia and I had bailed each other out of numerous situations in the last thousand years. Also, she's burned so many bridges around the world that I knew that she needed me and would do exactly as instructed.

After she left, I settled back into my throne for Fangtasia downtime. I'd been 'zoned' for about half an hour before I realized that my phone was ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and realized that it was a local number. I thought that it might be Raphael with a new update, so I answered it.

"I am here."

"Hello? This is Sookie Stackhouse. Is this Eric Northman?" For whatever reason, I suddenly sat up straighter.

"Yes, it is. I'm so glad to hear from you Miss Stackhouse." I started walking at human speed toward the quietness of my office.

"Well, that's nice. I was just talking to my brother and Lafayette, and they both convinced me to call you. Not that I wouldn't have, but they both thought I should. I got home from class, and they both seemed rather excited for me to contact you." I really, really liked the sound of her voice. I thought the melody of it perfectly matched the picture of her on The Enchanted Forest website.

"How was your class tonight?"

She chuckled, "Fine, thank you. Uhmm, so … both Jason and Lafayette were very impressed with you. I understand that you were one of two vampires who dropped in tonight."

Gods her voice was sexy. "And I understand that is a very rare situation for you all."

"Indeed it is," she sighed. She fucking sighed. That went to directly to my head… both of them. "There is a wide difference between their opinion of you and of our new neighbor, Mr. Compton."

"That's good to hear because there is an _actual_ wide difference between myself and Mr. Compton."

She chuckled again. "So I could tell. Plus, I figured it wouldn't be too late to call you, since I know you guys must be up pretty much all night."

I finally got to my office and plopped into my desk chair. Her voice was killing me. "Indeed. For us, night time is the best time."

"What just changed?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The sound of the call; it just changed,"

"Ah, I just walked into my office so that we can talk better. The club music can be quite loud." I pulled up The Enchanted Forest Website on my computer so that I could look at her picture as we talked. Again I marveled at how beautiful she was.

"The club?"

"I own Fangtasia, the vampire bar in Shreveport. Have you heard of it?"

"I have. I haven't been there, but I have certainly heard of it. Well, anyway, as I said, both Jason and Lafayette thought I should call you. They liked that you didn't try to glamour them, unlike our new neighbor, who Lafayette called a pair of walking sideburns."

I chuckled. "About that. I need to talk to you and your brother about your neighbor. There are some really important things you should know. Sooner would be better than later. Would both of you be available to come to Shreveport tomorrow evening? I'd rather discuss this away from your home so that Mr. Compton doesn't know we are meeting."

"Is there a problem with Mr. Compton?"

"Yes, I believe there to be a very big problem with him. In fact, I'm afraid for your safety."

"Oh my goodness," she exhaled. "Are we in danger?" I heard the fear in her voice as well as a couple male voices in the background. I assumed they were Jason and Lafayette.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Miss Stackhouse… Sookie, if I may…"

"Of course."

"I believe you may be in great danger from Mr. Compton. But don't panic. I intend to do everything in my power to protect you. In fact, I've already put several things in motion to assure the safety of you and your family. That's the primary reason I want to meet with you tomorrow night." I ran my hand over the screen picture of her.

"OK…" she paused. "Then you aren't really interested in my grafts?" She sounded very disappointed; I needed to let her know how very much I was interested about them.

"Oh, I am extremely interested in them. I was very serious about my proposal. In fact, I called my attorney to start some preliminary paperwork. He should get some of the beginning documents to me before we meet. We can talk about all of that tomorrow when we get together. I would suggest that you leave for Shreveport before full sunset."

"Why before sunset?"

"So you can avoid your neighbor, of course. Whatever you do, make sure that no one invites him into any of your homes. Above all, warn your grandmother about him. Unfortunately, he's a civil war veteran, and after I met Adele, I'm pretty sure she would find that charming and enticing. Make sure you tell her not to open the door to him, and above all, for her not to make eye contact with him. He can't glamour her that way. And, believe me, if he gets the chance, he will surely glamour her."

"Oh my. I'll tell her and Jason about that. I'll have Lafayette stay with her tomorrow night. He can't be glamoured, as I believe he told you tonight. I'll make sure he knows to answer the door if Mr. Compton comes calling. Where should we meet you?"

I thought for a moment about what location would be best; about what location I could control and would be free of vampire observation. "Do you mind driving across the river into Bossier City? The Bonne Chance?"

"Yes, I know it well," she quietly chuckled.

"I know you do. Go to the front desk of the hotel, tell the concierge that you are meeting me, and he will tell you where to go," I paused. "I was just wondering, if Lafayette described Compton as walking sideburns, how did he describe me?"

At that she full-out laughed, and it sounded like music, "Well… I do believe he said, and I quote … 'he be sex on a stick'," she said imitating Lafayette's voice. " I'll judge that for myself tomorrow. Bye, Eric".

I looked again at her picture from her website, and I knew I'd still be smiling about this well into my day rest.

 **AN:** Special thanks to hummingbirdgrrl for the term douchenozzle. A reminder – I don't own nothin', y'all; just messin' around.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Cool as a Cucumber

4:52…

My eyes popped open. Roll out of bed and stretch; swish the mouse and grab the remote; start the day. I realized I still had a small smile on my face from my conversation with the lovely Sookie Stackhouse last night. I was really looking forward to our meeting tonight. I plopped down into my desk chair. Awaking as a vampire is not like awaking as a human. Once awake, we are fully awake. I could take on an army, but first… I'm hungry. Older vampires don't _need_ as much blood, but we still _want_ it. I walked over to the refrigerator in my room and grabbed a bag of blood, put it in the microwave. I stretched again. And again. Then my meal was done.

Back to the chair, the computer, and the television. I was not in the mood for Judge Judy; I needed something with a little more action. Scrolling through the cable channels, so much crap, crap, more crap. Eureka! – found it on the Esquire Channel – _NCIS: Los Angeles_ marathon. No particular reason. Well, maybe I was a fan of LL Cool J – Mama said knock you out…. And Linda Hunt – she's tiny but she's scary. Someone should have made her vampire a while back; she seems worthy. What can I say? I like the procedurals. They are, after all, why we revealed ourselves. Not the TV shows, but the way that police began to solve crimes. Vampires somewhere were following their processes, and we decided to show ourselves rather than be 'outed' with possible dire consequences. And here's the actor who plays Deeks; obviously superior Scandinavian heritage.

There were a number of emails waiting for me. I dealt with the boring, Sheriff-related ones first. Then there was an email from Raphael;

Northman,

Lafayette Reynolds, age 28:

Manager of The Enchanted Forest. Tax return income last year of over $80,000. Important information:

Mother, Ruby Jean Reynolds, involuntary resident of Whispering Pines Nursing Home – she has been certified _non compos mentis_ (court records pending), but there is a long record of her involvement in various strange situations. Lafayette is personally paying all of the expenses for her care so that she can avoid the state psychiatric facility. However, and apparently unknown to Mr. Reynolds, the Stackhouses have made several "under the table" contributions to the nursing home, which keeps Ms. Reynolds' expenses lower.

No record of Mr. Reynolds' father, but he has an Aunt Lettie Mae Thornton and cousin Tara Thornton. They both live in Bon Temps. Lettie Mae is widely known as a 'raging drunk', and Tara owns a local boutique called Tara's Togs. Records indicate that Mr. Reynolds gave financial assistance for the establishment of that business.

Numerous sources of reports of his unprecedented (for Bon Temps) and surprisingly open homosexuality in high school and afterward, but also he was an All-State Baseball and All-Region Football player and apparently fairly well-liked.

He received an AA in business administration from LSU-Alexandria which he attended with Jason Stackhouse. They shared an apartment in Alexandria while in college.

Numerous childhood incidences of abuse (mother had many suitors, according to the police reports), with follow-ups involving Adele Stackhouse. Basically, Mrs. Stackhouse would show up and 'rescue' Lafayette from whatever situation he was currently in. Most of these situations seemed to involve saving him from his mother's abusive relationships…

 _Supernatural connection_ – Listed membership in a witch's coven in Shreveport headquartered at the Moon Goddess Emporium. He's reputed to be a powerful Medium. According to my research through supernatural channels, this is an inherited condition, which may explain some of his mother's situation. Although he is a registered member, he doesn't appear to attend coven meetings.

The Enchanted Forest was begun as a business just before Sookie Stackhouse graduated from college, and Mr. Reynolds was an employee from the business' inception. Prior to that, Mr. Reynolds and Jason Stackhouse worked together for the Shreveport Park District. On an interesting note, it appears that the initial capital for The Enchanted Forest came from a small inheritance the Stackhouse siblings received. I haven't found any record of who the inheritance was from.

That's what I have for now. Let me know if you need more…

R

My next meaningful email was from Mr. Cataliades. However, instead of sending the documents I'd requested, it was just a regular email:

Eric,

I understand that you are meeting with Jason and Sookie Stackhouse at the Bonne Chance Casino and Hotel tonight. I will meet you there with them, and we will discuss your business/legal needs at that time.

Until then,

D. Cataliades

What the fucking hell? I was expecting to receive legal documents… oh, look, LL Cool J is dangling from a catwalk … How did Cataliades know the specifics about this meeting? Is my phone bugged? Damn, should have used the burn phone! Hmmm… I always call Cataliades on my own phone; he's handled numerous legal matters for me. Does the queen know? In either event, I have to proceed as if everything I'm doing is perfectly fine… I, theoretically, don't know who she's after in Bon Temp. That's my story, and if pressed, I'm sticking to it.

My final email was another one from Raphael:

Northman,

You may want to review last night's final surveillance of Compton. I've marked the time stamp to start. I also copied Pam on this email.

R

Oh, this should be good. I activated my remote feed to my office computer and sat back. The picture revealed Compton with a phone to his ear pacing in his, what? Is that a living room? Fuck, I stayed in better places during the dark ages… with dead plague victims strewn about. This must be such a come down from the ridiculous and wasteful opulence of court.

"This is Bill Compton calling the queen as she requested." And Raphael's equipment is the best because I could hear both ends of the conversation.

"She's been waiting for you to call; please hold while I connect you." And, how about that, QSA… has hold music – seriously? You Light Up My Life? Compton resumed his pacing as we both listened to the fabulous song stylings of Debbie Boone… on a loop. And, sweet Valhalla, he paced… and paced. If I were him and I'd had one of those old-fashioned phones, I would have long since wrapped the cord around my neck. Just when I thought I might stake myself Sophie Ann came on the line.

"Bill, why don't I have the Stackhouses in my possession?"

"Your Majesty, I just got here a couple days ago. I haven't had a chance to secure your assets, but I'm making progress."

"I don't want progress; I want results. What's the hold up?"

"Your majesty, not only do they have lives here, but they also have a successful, well-known business as well as friends and family members who would surely report them missing. I have to proceed cautiously. I was hoping to entice them into voluntarily coming with me to New Orleans."

"I don't give a flying fuck about the business. Kill the family members and friends. Does the phrase 'scorched earth' mean anything to you? I want them here YESTERDAY. I'm in the middle of some very tricky marriage negotiations with Nevada, and I need an advantage." Oh, she did NOT just put a hit on Adele and Lafayette! What a homicidal bitch!

"How do these siblings give you an advantage?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but if I show up at the bargaining table with a pair of fairies under my belt, Felipe will give me anything I want."

Well Odin in a biscuit! They're fairies? Well, fuck me running, of course they are. So much made sense now.

"You think that Felipe will capitulate to your demands just to taste some fairy blood?" Bill asked.

"That, and they are so much more. They have special… shall we say talents. From what I can tell from Hadley's descriptions of them, the boy is a powerful empath; apparently, not only can he sense what someone is feeling, but he also can influence feelings." Holy shit. He did whammy me! "And the girl is a telepath; there's no end to how useful she could be. They will be invaluable to my queendom, and I'm sure Felipe will see them as the assets they are as well. Plus Andre looked them up on that interweb thing and told me they are both stunningly beautiful. Any number of courtiers, diplomats, business associates, as well as Felipe and other visiting royalty will give me anything I ask to have them for fucks and feeds. If he were physically able to, Andre would be salivating just to get at the girl. They'll be real money-makers on several fronts."

That 'interweb thing'? That scroll/missive is starting to make a lot more sense. Fucking Andre. He'll never get his hands on her! She's mine! I've roamed this planet for such a long, long time, and I've seen a lot of vicious and gruesome things that barely made me bat an eyelash, but Sophie Ann's plans for Jason and Sookie were coming close to making me physically ill.

"Aren't you afraid they will use these powers on you?"

"I'm told by my loyal witch advisor that their powers won't work on vampires." Boy, is she misinformed.

"How do you know that Felipe won't simply kill you and take them?" Good question.

"He can't kill me if I bond myself to them and then turn them, now can he? That way they will be my little slaves for eternity. But first I have to have them here. Get them to me NOW!" Fuck being a vampire, I _was_ feeling physically ill at her cold disregard for the eternity of these two.

"So far all my efforts to make contact with them have been unsuccessful. They are always out on job sites or elsewhere when I go to their homes or business. I went on a glamouring campaign in town last night, but no one seems to know where they go when they aren't home."

"I expected more from you, Bill," she said and then paused. "What about Northman?"

"What about Northman?" My ears pricked right up.

"Has he found out who you are after? Has he stood in your way?"

"Northman is just a stupid barbarian, but he's left me alone. Even if he tried to interfere, I'm much smarter than he is." Har de har, just keep telling yourself that…

"Very funny, Bill, you just keep telling yourself that." SEE? "He hasn't lived for over a thousand years because he's dumb."

Why, thank you Sophie. I almost feel bad that I'm going to thwart all your plans… Almost.

"Just make sure that Northman doesn't catch wind of fairies in his area. He's very territorial." Oh, thank the gods, she doesn't seem to know about the call the Cataliades.

"If I may ask, your majesty, why do you put up with such blatant insolence from a subject of yours?"

"Because, Bill, he is the number one protection of my queendom. His power and his reputation insure that no one would be foolish enough to attack." Damn straight. "Don't ever let him know I said that."

"I would have no reason to tell him, your majesty. Frankly, I can't stand him." Oh, the feeling is very, very mutual, Billy Boy. "Meanwhile, I will get back to the task you have charged me with."

"Bring them to me. If they aren't here in short order – as in Monday of next week at the latest, I will send Andre to fetch them… And stake you. Am I understood?" At that he stopped his pacing, and if I didn't know better I'd think he was looking straight at Raphael's camera, his face a mask of panic and fear. Soon he collected himself.

"I won't fail you, my liege." Sophie only responded by hanging up. I looked at the time stamp on the video. It revealed that is was mere minutes until sunrise. Bill's pacing became much more agitated as he began to take quick, gigantic strides around his lovely living room. "SHIT! Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit." You kiss your mother with that mouth, Compton? He looked toward the window as if gauging his time to sunrise. He quickly dialed his phone. A voice I'd hoped never to hear again answered.

"What?"

"Lorena, I need your help," and he proceeded to tell her the whole story as rapidly as he could, embellishing, of course, his role in it.

"I'll be there tomorrow night… and Bill, I'll expect payment."

"How much?"

She laughed that annoying laugh of hers, "Oh sweet William, I'm not talking about money." And with that she hung up as well.

Well, well, well, Billy Boy. You've really stepped into it this time. Sophie Ann was right; I didn't get to this age by waiting for life to simply happen. I always made it a point to stay one, two, five steps ahead of whoever I was up against. First thing, I called a Were that I trusted named Tray Dawson and set up round the clock protection details on all of the Stackhouses, including Lafayette, as well as their homes and business. Then, I called Thalia to leave a message and was somewhat surprised when she answered. I don't know why that surprised me since she was older than I. I told her about what was going on, and she assured me that she would protect Adele and Lafayette, and she would do her best not to reveal that I was involved. I had no doubt that nothing could get past her, and they were as safe as I could make them. With that handled, I gave an unnecessary sigh of relief.

So… my lovely Sookie was a fairy. If my heart still beat, it would be dancing a rumba. Then it occurred to me… would she be able to read my mind? Sophie had been obviously wrong about Jason's empathy not extending to vampires. Was she wrong about Sookie, too? I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the television. Another episode of _NCIS: Los Angeles_ had started. LL Cool J and old Robin were apparently approaching a possible suspect to question him, …aaaand he ran. As they chased him down the alley between bungalow houses, I wondered, was it me, or does that happen in pretty much every episode? Maybe it's time to change the channel… A quick check of HNN for the headlines: the authority of Homeland Security was extended yet again, the Fed said that interest rates weren't coming up any time soon, and Taylor Swift just broke up with her latest boyfriend… Must be Thursday.

There was still almost two hours till sunset. On the chance that the Stackhouses got to the Bonne Chance before me, I called the concierge to let him know of my plans, and to take them directly to my penthouse apartment. I should have probably stayed there today, but I didn't think of it in time. That in and of itself was strange.

Then I wondered what I should wear. After all, I was about to meet the beautiful Sookie Stackhouse. I was really glad that I had indulged in a full meal because I was actually nervous about my self-control around her. I found that I was also just nervous to meet her. Period. I hadn't been nervous about meeting a woman since… well… ever. I sure as hell had never stressed over what I would wear to meet someone. Suddenly all of my clothes seemed unequal to the task. Should I go casual? Should I wear a suit because this is a business meeting? This was ridiculous! I don't stress over my fucking 'outfit'. I am Eric Northman, Viking vampire, for Odin's sake! My name alone has spread fear all over the world, and now some slip of a girl had me doubting everything about myself. And I hadn't even met her! As Pam would say, I was in danger of turning into a tween girl.

Clearly I was overthinking all of this. I began a series of Tai Chi relaxation moves and decided just to let whatever happens happen, including my wardrobe choice. I felt much better – cool and collected, large and in charge – after about a half hour of the exercises and hopped into the shower. After I dried off, I picked the first clothes I came to and called it good. I then sat down at my computer and reviewed my investments, played some Free Cell (the oldies work for me), and then it was time to go. I grabbed my leather jacket and headed out to the corvette, pulled down the driveway… only to pull right back into my garage. This shirt was just all wrong.

* * *

I finally arrived at Bonne Chance and just strode inside as if I owned the place, which I did. The concierge informed me that he had already escorted all three of my guests to the penthouse, and that he had provided them with beverages and appetizers to nibble on. Excellent. I always like to make an entrance. When I arrived at the double doors of the penthouse, I took a brief second to center myself. Showtime… I grabbed both doorknobs, all but threw the doors open, and walked in. I didn't see any of them. Hmmmm… Then I heard some soft laughter from the den off of the dining room. I walked in that direction, and I found them with their backs to me, admiring the Shreveport/Bossier City skyline from the floor to ceiling windows. The room was dark, so I flipped on the lights, and all three of them turned suddenly to face me. And there she was…

Intellectually, I was aware that Jason and Cataliades were there as well, but I could only see her. She was even more lovely in person. She was tinier than I thought she would be. She offered me a dazzling smile, and I honestly don't know how my body stayed upright. I felt as if all of the planets of the solar system had just aligned. The thought that ran rampant through my head was Shakespeare's "Whoever loved that loved not at first sight." I became vaguely aware of a buzzing sound, like a fly or gnat circling my head. I slowly realized that it was Mr. Cataliades talking to me, and I emerged from my trance-like state with a huge sigh.

"Are you all right, Eric?" Cataliades asked.

"Never better… Never," I replied without taking my eyes off of her. I smiled when she blushed. "I am so, so happy to finally meet you, Sookie," I said as I walked to her offering my hand. She offered hers in return, and I kissed the back of it. Her blush deepened which made her even more adorable. And her scent! Amazing.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, too, Eric."

"Sookie, I am very anxious to talk to you about marketing the hybrids you've grafted, but I'm afraid we have some much more important things to discuss first." I gestured for them all to sit on the sofas in the living room. I sat in an arm chair across from all three of them. "First, I need you to understand, that as soon as I found out about what I'm going to tell you, I started taking whatever actions I could to prevent it."

"This sounds really bad," Jason added.

"Yes, Jason, I'm afraid that it's very bad indeed," I said before I took a breath, "Your neighbor, Bill Compton, is the queen's procurer. Do you know about the vampire hierarchy in Louisiana?" They both nodded their heads, which confirmed to me that as supes themselves they were better informed than humans. "Queen Sophie Ann's favorite new pet is Hadley Delahoussay." They both gasped. "She has informed the queen of the two of you… and your special talents."

"We thought she was dead," Sookie said softly.

"Fucking Hadley…" Jason exclaimed as he jumped up from the sofa and strode across the room. He thought for a second and then turned back to face everyone, "it wasn't enough that she tried to fuck up our lives all while we were growing up, but she has to go and do this? Sorry, Sook, but I wish she _was_ dead. Then I wouldn't feel this powerful need to kill her!"

"Jason, calm down, let's let Eric finish telling us about it. So, the queen sent Mr. Compton to procure us. What does that mean exactly?"

"It means that he is to deliver you to the queen, by force if necessary."

Jason asked, "You mean he would kidnap us?"

"Absolutely. I only found out about this day before yesterday. I had my investigator, Raphael, look into you and your business, and also put Compton under every kind of surveillance he could think of. You might be interested to know that Compton went on a glamouring spree last night at a place called Merlotte's in order to get more information on you. People apparently either want to protect you or don't know much about you."

Sookie laughed, "It's a little bit of both actually."

"When I rose this afternoon, I had a message from Raphael to check a certain part of his surveillance feed. I copied that feed onto this flash drive, and I'd like to play it for you now, if you don't mind."

Jason and Sookie looked at each other and shrugged, "Sure."

"I need to warn you that you may find some of this distressing, but don't worry, I'm doing what I can to protect you and yours." With that I inserted the flash drive into the USB port on the smart TV mounted over the fireplace opposite them. They sat quietly watching, gasping now and then. As expected they both reacted strongly to Sophie Ann's order to kill their grandmother, and reacted just as much when Sophie Ann declared her intention of turning them into blood whores. When the video concluded I turned off the TV and turned the light back on.

Jason spoke first, "Uncle Des, what are we going to do?" Uncle Des?

Cataliades answered, "Let's wait and see what Mr. Northman proposes." He looked at me and nodded for me to continue.

"Well, here's my idea. Raphael told me that you began your business with a small inheritance. Is this true?"

"No, our grandfather gave us the money. We just used the word inheritance in case anyone asked where it came from," Sookie offered. "We couldn't very well tell anyone that our fairy grandfather, they'd never met, seen, or heard about, gave us the money."

"Excellent, that works out perfectly with what I have in mind. Mr. Cataliades can help us with the details. I propose that it wasn't really money from your grandfather, but an investment that I had chosen to make to help you get your business started, and I was to be your silent partner. We can backdate a contract to that effect. That way, you two will have been registered assets of mine for almost three years."

"I see where this is going, and I think this a very good solution to start out with," Cataliades said. "This would be easy for me to accomplish." He turned to Jason and Sookie, "In the vampire world, if you have already been claimed by one vampire, not even a vampire of superior rank can just yank you away. Ultimately, however, Sophie Ann could find a legal way to 'remove' you from Eric. But this would forestall her for the foreseeable future. It's a pretty good short-term plan, and it would give us time to come up with something more long-term."

"What about Gran and Lafayette? The queen ordered them killed," Sookie said with no small amount of dismay.

"I've ordered round-the-clock protection from Weres, and I've assigned Thalia to protect your grandmother personally. She's the oldest vampire in America, and nothing will get past her."

All three of them sighed in relief. "Well done, Northman," Cataliades added. I merely nodded at him.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Jason asked.

That was a good question that deserved a good, honest answer. "When I first found out about Bill's mission, I was really just curious. After some initial research by Raphael, I discovered what public lives you guys have, and the pragmatist in me realized that kidnapping you would be very detrimental to vampires in Louisiana. Our queen is just sheltered, and yes, too stupid to understand that. But the more I found out about you… something shifted for me. And after I met you and Lafayette and your grandmother last night, I knew I couldn't let this happen." Then I turned to Sookie and took her hand again. "And, Sookie, ever since I first laid eyes on your picture on your website… I guess the most honest thing to say is that I've been smitten. And 'smitten' is something that has never happened to me in all my one thousand plus years. And now that I've met you in person…" I didn't quite know how to finish that statement. She blushed again which caused the cold blood in my body to turn warm.

"Wow, Eric. I have a feeling that you are either going to be the best… or the worst thing that has ever happened to me," she smiled coyly. "I'm really, really hoping you're the best."

"As am I," I smirked at her. For a few minutes we just held hands and stared at each other.

"Ok, ok, ok," Jason cut in. "It sounds like we have some work to do. Am I right?"

"And we may have a potential conflict of interest problem," added Cataliades. I looked at him. "You see, Eric, while I have been your legal representative for many years – longer than Jason and Sookie have been alive, in fact – I am also their godfather, and I take that responsibility very seriously as well. I think your idea to contractually protect them is an excellent one, but are you alright knowing my relationship with them?"

"You're their godfather?" I asked incredulously. "How… "

"Their grandfather, their 'fairy' grandfather," he clarified, "is my best friend and has been my best friend for centuries. I believe you know his father, Niall."

I suddenly clutched Sookie's hand that I had been holding and turned to look at Cataliades. When I realized I might be hurting her I let go abruptly. I stood up and paced to the other side of the room and back again. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it again and paced another circuit of the room. I noticed in my periphery the looks exchanged between Jason and Sookie, Jason and Cataliades. How the fuck did this happen? If Sophie Ann succeeded in kidnapping these two, there wouldn't just be a shitstorm happening in this world. This would be tantamount to a declaration of supernatural war.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but the first thing out of it was, "Holy Fuck… this is so much bigger than I thought."

"Why do you think I dropped everything on my agenda to come up here from New Orleans today. I became concerned last night when you mentioned that this partnership would be with the Stackhouses. And when Jason called me this morning and told me about your offer, I suspected something else might be happening. I didn't know what, but I knew that I needed to be here for my godchildren. The good news is that I can not only help you in drafting up the asset contracts, but I can also contact my friend Fintan and let him know what is going on. He loves his grandchildren, and he adores Adele. I know you've put protection in place, but Fintan can also get some security in place from his end. If all else fails, we can simply spirit Jason and Sookie to Faerie if we need to."

"NO!" I shouted before I could think to do otherwise. All three of them stared somewhat shocked at my outburst. Why did that idea freak me out so? Then I looked at Sookie and I knew. I sat back down beside her and re-took her hand, "I mean, I just met you," I said much more softly, and then I gave her my best sincere smile. Thankfully she returned the smile with the added bonus of another beautiful blush.

"Eric, how do we know we can trust you? How do we know you don't have some grand scheme equal to the queen's?" Jason interjected. "After all, we just met you."

I took a deep breath and turned to him. "That's a very fair question. I know you don't really know me, but I have a reputation for being a very honorable vampire. I think Mr. Cataliades can verify this." At this Cataliades nodded to him. "And, I promise you both that I will never lie to you. I may not always be able to tell you everything, but anything I do tell you will be the truth. Actually, my showing you the surveillance footage and telling you about the queen's plans could be construed by some as treason. I hope that, at least, buys me some trust from you."

"Ok, then. I guess that's good enough for me."

"Besides, Mr. Fair and Square," I asked. "What was that happiness mojo you put on me last night? I thought my child might stake me to get me to stop smiling and, of all things, humming."

"Jason, you didn't…" Sookie asked horrified. Cataliades chuckled.

He smiled somewhat sheepishly and shrugged, "I'd never met a vampire before; I wanted to know if I could. And Eric, I was working the mojo, as you call it, in hyperdrive. A human wouldn't have been able to handle it. So it apparently works on vampires, but on a much lesser level. I won't try it again… Promise."

"I'm so sorry, Eric," Sookie stated while giving Jason a raised eyebrow look.

"What about you, Sookie, can you read my thoughts?"

"No, thank heavens. You're mind is blissfully silent to me. I'm going to have to take you entirely on faith."

As long as you take me, I thought. "Is that a leap you want to take?" I asked.

"I think so," she answered and then smiled ever so flirtatiously. "And Eric, Lafayette was right about you…"

It took me a moment to catch her reference, but when I did I laughed out loud. My life just got a lot more interesting on many fronts.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Not a Date

"You aren't at all what I expected a vampire to be like," Sookie whispered. "Our granddaddy warned us early on that vampires were bad news for fairies, but I didn't want to believe him. That whole idea just went against everything our Gran had taught us."

"What did your Gran teach you?" I asked.

"Basically, that you judge each person on their own merits regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or … pulse status," she smiled at me.

I laughed again. "What did you expect a vampire to be like?"

"Oh, I don't know… At the risk of stereotyping: serious, brooding, I guess. Maybe a little stuck in the past."

"Well, you've just described Bill Compton to a tee. Never saw a more brooding, stuck in the past vampire," I added. "Immortality is the most amazing gift. What a shame if someone doesn't make the most of it," I paused. "And your grandfather was right to warn you. Fairies are very appealing and nearly irresistible to vampires. In fact the blood of a full fae is like crack to a vampire. One taste, and we're basically… how do you say… wasted? Most vampires would lose control around a fairy."

Mr. Cataliades took Jason into the dining room, opened his briefcase and pulled out his laptop and his fold-out miniature printer. They seemed to be conferring about something. Sookie continued with her thought as we stayed seated, for the moment, on the sofa in the living room.

"You seem to be in perfect control, Eric."

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well, there are several reasons for that. First, I'm a very old vampire, and I have learned excellent control over many things in my life. Second, I made sure that I had a good meal before I left home tonight," I said with a smirk.

"And third?" she asked.

"Third, although you smell like heaven, and believe me you do, you are not a full fae, Sookie, for which I am eternally grateful. I would not be able to spend much time around you if you were, and I do so hope to spend a lot of time with you." Gods help me, she blushed again. "Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I had no idea you were fairy at all when I 'fell' for your picture or discovered your beautiful grafts of gladioli. My little crush on you is about who you are, not _what_ you are. All the information I found about you intrigued me, then captivated me. There was no way on earth that I could NOT meet you."

She inhaled a deep breath at my declaration. "Wow, Eric. Your thousand plus years as a vampire, as you put it, weren't wasted. You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl."

"Believe it or not, Sookie, I've never really tried to sweet-talk a girl before. Not to be overly egotistical or anything, but I've never had to. Hell, I've never even dated before. So… wanting to be with you… Actually being with you, if you will allow it, will be a brand new experience for me. And vampires crave new experiences."

"You've never dated?"

"Nope, not really. But I desperately want to date you. 'Date' is such a funny word to me, but I'll do whatever it takes to convince you of my sincere desire to get to know you better. I only ask that you remember that this kind of… endeavor is new to me… Be gentle…"

At that, she burst out laughing. I tilted my head; was she making fun of me? I changed my shirt three times tonight! I don't think she understands how incredibly new I am to this 'courtship' thing. "I'm not entirely sure what you find so funny, but I'm being perfectly sincere… I've never dated before."

After a few moments she seemed to rein herself in. "I'm sorry, Eric. It just struck me as funny that a guy like you would be in any way insecure… But if it makes you feel any better, I don't have any real dating experience either."

"How is that possible? You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen… In over a thousand years!"

"Wow… just… holy cow, wow!" she said. "Either you are the best bullshit artist I've ever met, or you, quite possibly, are the greatest man I've ever met… please be the latter."

"Two tall orders from you tonight, Sookie. I need to be the best thing that ever happened to you AND the greatest man you ever met… Hmmmm…." She giggled. "Seriously though, I don't bullshit. I mean what I say and say what I mean. How could you not have dating or romantic experience?"

"I'm a telepath, Eric, as you now know. I can hear the thoughts of all men… except vampires. It's really hard to get romantically involved with someone when you can hear while they're kissing you that they wish they could touch your boobs, or wish that you looked more like this movie star or that, or they can't wait to find out if I'm a natural blonde, or… oddly enough, that I were my brother… Yep, that one happened once." She took a breath, "And you, the most spectacular looking man I've ever met have a crush on me, Miss No One Special from nowhere special? What am I to think?"

At this point Mr. Cataliades called to us from the dining room. I bent down to Sookie's ear, "We aren't anywhere near the end of this discussion."

She laughed and gently grabbed me behind my neck to keep me bent down to her, "I should hope not." And with that we both went into the dining room to join Jason and Cataliades.

Cataliades cleared his throat. "So, as I see it, we have two legal problems to solve. We have to set up a retro-active contract with Eric, so that he is a silent partner in The Enchanted Forest from its inception, and also so that he claimed the both of you as his assets three years ago." He paused looking around at the three of us and we all nodded in turn. "OK, that is for appearances sake. The real business between The Enchanted Forest and Eric is the marketing of the hybrid night-blooming gladioli that Sookie has created. Am I correct?" Sookie and I held hands as we all looked at each other and agreed.

"OK. The best way to accomplish both of those things, legally, is to figure out how much Eric would have had to invest to be the silent partner, and apply that amount to the marketing of the hybrids. That way we accomplish all goals with one actual investment. Does this make sense to you?"

"What exactly does it mean that he's our silent partner?" Jason asked. A very good question to ask, I thought.

"Basically, it can mean whatever we want it to mean. However, we're going to have to do some creative work with Mr. Northman's tax returns to make it totally believable. Sophie Ann might not check them, but I'm pretty sure that Andre will." He nodded at me. "I can handle that for you, Eric..."

"You can make it look like I was their partner for the last three years on tax returns that have already been filed?"

"That's why I make the big bucks," he smiled. And then he proceeded to walk us through the various legal maneuverings he envisioned. After almost two hours of discussion, he printed off two copies of the contract for us to review. Sookie and Jason looked theirs over together as I reviewed my copy. I signed where indicated and passed my copy to them. They did the same, and we had two fully executed contracts dated three years ago. Then we all signed a third 'filing' copy so that Cataliades would have an official copy as well.

Just as we were finishing my phone rang. A quick check showed me it was Thalia, and I excused myself from the table to answer. At almost the same time Jason's phone rang, and he answered it. We both finished our calls about the same time, and oddly we were both chuckling. We both started talking at the same time, but I encouraged Jason to go first.

"That was Lafayette. Apparently Bill Compton and 'some red-haired skanky ho'," he used the air quotes and I chuckled, "came to the house tonight. Compton tried to glamour Laf again, and when that didn't work, the ho tried it too. When her glamour didn't work, she got all kind of threatening to hurt them and screechy, screaming strings of really bad cuss words pretty much demanding they come out of the house or invite them into the house. Then Gran shouted from a distance way beyond the door that she had her shotgun and it was loaded with silver bullets and she knew how to use it, that she had called the police, and they were on their way, and if they were still there when the police arrived she would make the police hold that foul-mouthed lady down so she could wash her mouth out with soap." I couldn't help laughing at that. "Then the ho shouted 'this ain't over', and they took off. When the police got there Laf and Gran told them what had happened. The cops went over to the Compton place and combed the woods around the house, but they couldn't find the vamps anywhere. I told them to stay in the house in case they came back."

"Well my call kind of picks up where yours finishes. That was Thalia, the vampire I assigned to protect your grandmother. When Bill and Lorena, the 'ho', got to the woods they began plotting ways to get Laf and your Gran out of the house. They happened to do this in the exact area that three of the four Weres guarding the house were on patrol. The Weres, in wolf form, attacked Bill and Lorena, and backed them into rope snares they had set where the fourth Were tripped the traps and Bill and Lorena both were hurled into the air by one ankle. On a side note, Lorena was wearing a dress… and apparently nothing else. Thalia was able to knock them out with a baseball bat to the head from behind. The Weres and Thalia placed bags over the heads of Bill and Lorena, tied them up in silver, and they are now in the back of a van on their way to Kansas."

The shocked look on Jason and Sookie's faces was priceless. Mr. Cataliades laughed openly. "What? I told you I had put protection in place for all of you."

Sookie got up from her chair and crossed to me. She just stood there for a moment seemingly searching for something to say, and then she just flung her arms around my waist and hugged me.

"Thanks, dude," Jason added quietly. "I know we still need to talk about Sookie's hybrids, but I'd really like to go home and check on Gran and Laf. Can we talk about that stuff tomorrow or something?"

"I understand," I said as I wrapped my arms around Sookie. "Did you both come here together?"

"Yeah. You ready, Sook?"

"Actually, I could give you a ride home, Sookie, if you feel like spending a little more time with me? The evening is still young. For me." She finally pulled her head away from my chest and looked up at me. I was shocked to see she had tears streaming from her eyes.

"I would absolutely lo… like to spend more time with you, Eric."

"Please don't censor yourself around me, Sookie," I whispered. She smiled shyly and nodded. I said aloud, "Then it's settled. I'll give your sister a ride home."

"You sure, Sook?" he asked. Then he whispered, "He _is_ a vamp."

"Yeah, Jase. I think I'll be in good hands." I smiled. I would love for her to be in my hands in oh, so many ways.

"Uncle Des?" Jason asked.

"I'm going to get to work on placing this contract with the Authority, as well as adjusting Mr. Northman's taxes. We want our story to be foolproof." They nodded at each other. He walked over to Sookie, and she turned and hugged him while he placed a tender kiss to the top of her head.

"Thanks, Uncle Des. For everything. Love you."

"And I you, my lovely girl," he answered. "Have fun." Then he smiled at her before he looked at me raising one eyebrow that told me in no uncertain terms that he would be checking in on me and how I treated his goddaughter. I nodded in respect to his concern. "Let us leave these two to get better acquainted, Jason," he said as he ushered Jason toward the door with a hand on the small of his back. When they were almost out of sight, Jason took one last look back at Sookie, and she nodded. Then they were gone.

Alone at last.

At first we both just kind of stood around awkwardly. I thought for a moment I could hear the silent electric clock on the wall ticking. I opened my mouth to speak, but decided what I was going to say was dumb. Then she did the same. Finally, we both started to speak at the same time, stopped, and then started laughing.

"So… Eric. What do you want to do now?"

Oh my Sookie, if you only knew. "Have you eaten tonight?"

"Just a few of the appetizers over there, a few hours ago," she pointed to the tray on the table.

"Then I shall take you to one of the finest restaurants in all of Caddo Parish." Then I crooked my arm and offered it to her. "Shall we, Miss Stackhouse?"

"We shall, Mr. Northman." And with that she placed her hand into the crook of my elbow. We then walked to the elevator to get to the ground floor. We chitted and we chatted about nothing much at all on the way down. I noticed a flurry of activity when the concierge saw me exit the elevator, so that by the time we made it through the front door of Bonne Chance, the valet had my car waiting for me. He jumped out of the driver's side and ran around to open the door for Sookie, and I delivered her into her seat. After giving the valet a hefty tip, I walked around to the other side and got in the car.

"What a cherry ride, Eric. I feel like I'm dating the hottest guy in high school."

"Oh, I assure you that I am no teenager." When I looked over at her I was rewarded with another heart-stopping blush. "And, this is not a date. _When_ we have our first date, it will be really special. This is us just getting to know one another."

She laughed and we talked and talked about more nothing at all until we pulled into the restaurant parking lot. She looked up and gasped. "This is Papa Sylvan's… this is supposed to be the best Cajun food in all of Louisiana!"

"Yes, I know. Have your eaten here?"

"Oh, I wish. The articles in the paper say that you have to have reservations or be prepared to wait for an hour or more."

"I think we'll do better than that," I said as one of the valet attendants opened her door to escort her out of the car. I met her at the front of the car and again offered her my arm. She once again gifted me with her glorious smile as I escorted her into the restaurant.

"Welcome to Papa Sylvan's… Well, hello Mr. Northman. How are you tonight?"

"I am very well. I'd like a table for two." She looked down at her laminated seating chart marked with her black wax marker. I looked around and noticed about thirty or so people waiting for a table.

"Of course, right this way," and she grabbed a couple of differently sized menus and escorted us through the restaurant to our table. She handed the larger menu to Sookie and the smaller one to me. "Your server will be Odette. She will be with you in a moment."

"Did you make reservations on the off-chance that we would end up here tonight?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then how did we get a table with no wait? Did you see how many people were waiting for a table?"

"Yes, I did. I happen to know the owner… And the hostess. Who happens to be the owner's wife," I smiled.

"Oh. So they are friends of yours?"

"In a manner of speaking. The owner is a Were, as is his wife. He's an amazing chef, I'm told, and he needed financial help to open this restaurant. I believed in him, so I invested."

"Wow. Are you – like – the supernatural investment broker for all of Louisiana?" As I was laughing at her comment, I realized I hadn't laughed as much in the last century as I had in the last few days.

"I like to think I know a good investment when I see one. Look around this restaurant. Not an empty table anywhere, and I do believe at 10:30," I said as I looked at my watch, "we are well past the normal dinner hour. And this is a week night. Imagine the crowds on the weekend."

She shook her head as she chuckled to herself. "I must be hungrier than I thought. This all looks so good," she said as she looked over the menu. At that, our waitress appeared at the table.

"Good evening and welcome to Papa Sylvan's. I'm your server, Odette. Do you have any questions about the menu?" We both shook our heads. "OK. What can I get for you all?"

"I'll have the Mudbug Platter, please," Sookie said. "And a glass of Malbec."

"An excellent choice of wine, Ma'am" Odette said. "That comes with a salad. What type of dressing would you like?

Sookie looked again at the menu. "Oooh. I think I'll try the jalapeno bacon ranch."

"I think you'll like it. It's got a little kick, but not too much. And you, sir?"

It took me a moment to respond. Mudbug? That sounded positively revolting. "Uhm, I'll have the Royalty Blend."

"All righty then, I'll be right back with your drinks." And she was off.

I couldn't help it, "Mudbug?"

Sookie giggled. "Sounds pretty gross, eh?"

"To say the least…"

"It's crawfish." I raised my eyebrows in question. "Mudbug is Cajun slang for crawfish. The platter is half crawfish etouffee and half fried crawfish. Sounds heavenly." She paused, "You know crawfish, right?" I shook my head no. "They look and taste like little, tiny miniature lobsters. You've heard of those surely." She looked around at the other tables. "Look over there," she whispered as if anyone else might hear, "those people over there are having boiled crawfish, you can see how they look like little lobsters."

I turned and looked. Well, what do you know; they did look like lobsters. I couldn't help but chuckle, "If we had found those when I was human, I doubt we would have been inclined to eat them, and we were often starving. Why are they called mudbugs?"

"Crawfish live in fresh water, as opposed to shrimp which come from salt water. In Louisiana they are, or I guess they were, prevalent in swamps, and I guess swamps are muddy," she shrugged. "Actually, Louisiana supplies around ninety percent of the world's crawfish, and now they are generally grown on giant crawfish farms. Rice, sugar cane, and crawfish. Louisiana's biggest exports. And maybe jazz."

Her explanation succeeded in making the crawfish seem less disgusting. Odette placed both of our drinks and Sookie's salad in front of us. "Do you have to be at work or school early in the morning?"

"Nah. Jason and I have this deal. I take off Thursday night and Friday morning so that he can take off Friday night and Saturday morning. When we take the morning off, we don't come in until noon. That way he can have a date on Friday nights. On Saturdays we close at 5:00, and we're closed all day Sunday. Right now we're trying to hire more staff so that we can have another day off during the week."

"What about your classes?" I wondered.

"This semester is almost entirely about my thesis, so most of my work is done online. I just have the one seminar class on Wednesdays."

"That's quite the drive to College Station in Texas."

She looked down at the table, "I guess…"

"How long does it take you?" I asked watching her carefully.

"Well, uhmm…"

I knew it! "You don't drive to class do you? You can do that fairy teleportation thing!"

"Shhhhh," she put her finger to her mouth. "Uhmmm, yeah I can. So can Jason. But I'll have to drive over there at the end of the semester with my hybrids to defend my thesis."

"Did you both drive to Bonne Chance tonight, or did you 'pop'?" I asked.

She laughed, "We drove. We have to be judicious about our popping, as you call it. If we do it too much it takes a lot out of us. Remember – I'm a hybrid myself? We only use it for emergencies, and, in my case, to get to class. I never would have been able to study at Texas A & M otherwise. The first semester was really tough because I was popping to classes four days a week as well as trying to get The Enchanted Forest off the ground," she paused, "pardon the pun. I was exhausted to the point of nearly collapsing at the end of that semester. During the semester break, anytime I wasn't working for our business, I was pretty much in bed resting up. I decided then that I would register for classes that met no more than two days a week, and my professors must have liked me because they somehow made that possible."

"How much more do you have to do to finish your thesis?"

"I'm finished. Or, I was. When you said you wanted to invest, that kind of changed things. I mean, I kind of have to address that. The rationale for creating the hybrids became totally validated when you said that. That's kind of the whole point. So now I need to write another chapter or two to finish my thesis."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to create more work for you."

"NO! It's great. This will assure my thesis committee not only passes me, but also gives me an amazing grade. I'm guaranteed to graduate. Do you know how many people submit their graduate work without any knowledge or proof of its potential success? Almost everyone. I am beyond thrilled that you are interested in my grafts."

"And I really am. Like I told Jason, I know vampires all over the planet. Do you know how to ship your plants internationally?"

"Pretty much, but that's the advantage to being in school. What I don't know now, I have tremendous resources to find out. Those last chapters of my thesis are going to take some work, and I only have about four weeks to finish it. The thesis has to be in the hands of my graduate committee a month in advance of the orals," she paused. "So, I've got my work cut out for me."

"Sorry to cause you so much work."

"No, no, no, like I said I'm grateful. On the one hand, I was completely done with my thesis, and I was just going to kind of coast through the rest of the semester. But now, even though it's a lot more work, my thesis is going to be one of the best ever! I had already hypothesized the possibility of vampire interest in the hybrids in an earlier chapter, and now I can prove that theory. So…. Thank you very much for causing me so much more work!"

We both laughed freely. I lifted my goblet, "To more work." And our glasses clinked together.

Sookie laughed and took a sip, then raised her glass again, "To working together."

"Absolutely," I added and clinked her glass. Odette appeared at our table with Sookie's Mudbug Platter. I have to admit it didn't look as disgusting as I had first envisioned. "That actually smells quite good."

She smiled, "It's the etouffee. It's my favorite food in the world. My Gran makes the best." And she took a bite from the …gooier-looking side of her plate. "Although this is pretty darn close." And then she made the most delightful humming noises as she ate more. It was sexy as hell. "It's really a shame you can't even try this; it's so, so good," she paused. "Do you ever miss eating food?"

"Not for a thousand years… until tonight. Those are quite the sexy yummy noises you are making, Sookie." At that she blushed the deepest blush of the evening. Holy gods she was beautiful. Then she put her fork down in obvious embarrassment, "Don't stop. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. It's been years, possible centuries, since I shared a meal with a beautiful woman. I'm actually quite enjoying it," I paused. "I hope you are as well."

To my everlasting relief, she picked her fork back up and started eating again. After a moment, she finally spoke very softly, "I'm enjoying myself, too, Eric." She continued eating in silence for a few minutes and then she shook her head. "Tonight has been almost… surreal. Like it's too good to be true. Like _you're_ too good to be true." She looked off into the distance. "Gran always said that any time something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

I reached across the table and took her hand. "Don't be afraid, Sookie. In all things, I have the utmost regard for your happiness. I promise I'm thinking only wonderful thoughts of you."

She let out a small chuckle and then she really surprised me. "You know, all my life I've hated my telepathy. When I was a child it was very hard to distinguish between 'inside thoughts' and 'outside thoughts' as Gran called them. I was forever blurting out answers to questions no one asked out loud. And I had no way of turning it off until Granddaddy Fintan taught me how to build up shields. Even now, sometimes holding the shields in place can become exhausting."

"Earlier tonight when I first found out you were a telepath, I thought about what an amazing gift that must be. It never occurred to me how hard it would have been for you."

"Gift? I've always referred to it as 'my little curse'. As I said, I've always hated it. And although I love that I find your mind gloriously silent, I find myself missing the ability to tell what you are really thinking. It's disconcerting."

"That's where that leap of faith I mentioned comes in."

"Truth is you scare me." I couldn't help but tilt my head to the side. "I don't mean that I think you will physically hurt me or anything, but I just met you tonight, and already I feel this … intense connection with you."

I squeezed her hand. "And I feel the same way about you."

"It's almost like it's too much, too fast."

"Well, I have two whole days of crush lead time on you," I joked and she smiled and looked down at her half-eaten meal. I shook her hand a little, "Look at me." She looked up with tears on the edge of her lashes. "Trust me." We stared at each other in silence for the longest time, "I've just made it my life's goal to make sure you always _know_ that you are Miss Someone Special." She gave me a small smile and nodded her head.

"Excellent, now that we've got that settled… Do you like the ballet?" I asked.

And Sookie began to genuinely laugh, "Let me rub my neck there, Eric, from the whiplash your sudden change of subject just gave me." I joined her laughter. I also noticed a few supes in the restaurant giving me strange looks. I thought they could just look on because I was genuinely have a good time, and I was not about to let their questioning observations change that.

"Well, do you?"

"I don't know; I've never been to one, why?"

"The Joffrey Ballet Company is touring the country, and they are giving a performance of _The Sleeping Beauty_ Saturday night at the Shreveport Performing Arts Center. I think a beautiful ballet with lots of fairy characters might be just what we need for a first date. What do you think?"

"Sounds fantastic!"

"Excellent. I'll give you a call tomorrow night to hash out the details." She opened her mouth to say something, but obviously changed her mind. "What?"

"I was just thinking… It's really too bad that this right here isn't a date."

"Why's that?"

"Because I have this solemn, unbreakable rule… I never have sex on the first date," she smiled coyly at me.

Well, fuck me.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Actual Date, Part 1

4:17 p.m. – Saturday

Eyes pop open… Nearly an hour earlier than usual – not that I was excited or anything. Hop out of bed, stretch, swish the mouse, hit power on the remote, start the day. Pop a bag of blood in the microwave and stretch some more. Then pace… and pace. Why is it taking so long? I punched in the same time as always… pace – not that I was excited or anything.

Beep-beep-beep.

Finally! I had my meal and sat at my computer to take care of business and sheriff matters, determined not to think about the fact that it had been thirty-eight hours and fifty-two minutes since I'd last seen my Sookie. Nope, wasn't going to think about that at all. I also wasn't going to think about what she may wear tonight – that it would probably billow around her perfect body as she walked and bring out the color of her eyes. I also wouldn't think about the slight swishing noise the skirt would make with every step she took or how her golden hair might be done in a feminine sweep up with soft curls framing her face. Nope. I wasn't going to think on those things at all.

For the love of the gods, Northman! Pull yourself together. Saturday afternoon television, what to watch? Scrolling through the cable channels: crap, crap, more crap. How can I have nearly a thousand channels and nothing to watch? Oh… the movie _Tombstone._ I love that one; Doc Holliday is awesome, and it's only been on since four o'clock.

I checked my email, and found one from the queen:

Sheriff Northman,

I demand your presence at my palace on Monday night. Plan to come down to New Orleans on Sunday evening because our meeting on Monday will begin right at first dark.

HRH Sophie Ann Leclerq

Well how about that? Thanks for the heads up, Sophie Ann. Monday was the deadline she gave Compton for securing Jason and Sookie. The queen was being rather uncharacteristically proactive, and she didn't want me to know that Andre would be in my area. Well, fuck me running, I'd have to figure out how to protect them from Andre now which was somewhat problematic. First of all, Andre wasn't stupid like Compton. And second, he wasn't likely to come alone, which meant that unlike Compton, he wasn't basically powerless. Third, I was going to be in fucking New Orleans when he arrived here. Shit was about to get real. What to do, what to do? I sat and thought about the situation as Doc Holliday drew his gun on Johnny Ringo. Make that guns, 'One for each of you'. And suddenly the answer occurred to me. I would have to discuss it with Sookie tonight because the silent partner was about to become vocal… so to speak… pardon the pun. In the mean time, I had some phone calls to make on a burn phone.

Exactly six phone calls, four emails, and forty-eight minutes later, I had put everything into place. I chuckled as I thought, 'Sookie Stackhouse, I'm your huckleberry,' as I mouthed the last words with Doc Holliday on the television. Now I just had to convince them all to play along, although they had already proved quite well they were adept at 'playing'. I couldn't help but remember my phone call with Sookie last night…

* * *

"Seriously, Eric. You want to know what I'm wearing? Cliché much?" Sookie giggled.

"Well… you can either tell me, or I will just imagine that you aren't wearing anything at all. Hmmm, I think I prefer that."

"Who knew that a thousand year old vampire could be such a frat boy. I hate to deflate whatever pervy fantasy you've got going, but I just came in from work, and I have on a black tank top and olive cargo pants."

"Really? That's what Jason was wearing the other night when I dropped into your business."

"Yeah, it's kind of our uniform. I have numerous black tank tops and pairs of olive cargo pants. We both do. I desperately need to take a shower though. I've been up to my elbows in soil all day. Sexy, eh?"

I loved that the southern belle in her used the word soil instead of dirt. "Actually, there's very little that you could say, do, or wear that I wouldn't find completely sexy."

She giggled. "If you were my student, I would give you an A+ for sweet talk." Then I heard a loud knocking on her door. "Hold on," she said as she answered her door. I could hear perfectly the conversation between her grandmother and her.

"Sookie, that horrid Mr. Compton is at the door. What are we going to do?" That made me sit up straighter.

I asked her, "Is she sure it's Compton? He wasn't supposed to be able to return to the area for a couple days at least."

"Gran, how do you know it's him?"

"I peeked out of the window in the living room, and I saw him and his sideburns. That, that … skanky ho is with him, too." I couldn't help but chuckle at Adele's use of Lafayette's slang. It just sounded so wrong and so … strangely polite coming from her mouth. And then I heard it: Lorena screeching in the background.

"Open this fucking door and get your asses out here now! If you don't open this fucking door immediately, I swear that when I get my hands on you, I'm going to reach up through your fucking twats and pull your fucking hearts out!"

Hello to the imagery… "Eric, what are we going to do?" Just then I heard the breaking of glass in the distance. "I think they just threw something through the front window!"

"Can you be glamoured, Sookie?"

"I don't really know; I don't think so."

"Does your grandmother have a smart phone?"

"Yeah, I gave her an iPhone for Christmas."

"OK, here's what you are going to do. When you get downstairs, put your phone in your pocket; I'll be able to hear everything just fine. Take your grandmother's iPhone and set it to video record mode. Open the door, but stay well behind the opening and let them know that you are recording them. Meanwhile, your grandmother can call the cops. You do have a landline, too, don't you?"

"Yeah, we do. She just handed me her phone and is going to the house phone. I'll just talk to you on the way down the stairs."

"Hold on, I'm just going to make a quick call on another phone." And I called Thalia to make sure she was on the job, and she said that she was watching them from the tree line, ready to move in if needed. After I finished with Thalia, I returned to the call with Sookie. "Are you ready to go downstairs?

"I guess."

"When you get to the top of the stairs, I want you to yell, 'Coming' as if this answering the door is something you do all the time. I want you to be calm as a cucumber as you let them know that you are recording everything they are doing and saying. Do you think you can do that?"

"I'll try, but I'm pretty scared."

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Sookie. I promise I will find a way to make it all go away. I'll talk to you all the way down the stairs, just don't say my name because they will likely be able to hear you. Has your Gran reached the police?"

There was a pause and then she answered, "Yeah, they're on their way."

"Good, very good. Thalia and the Weres are also in place. You are perfectly safe, Sookie, don't be afraid." She must have left her room and arrived at the top of the stairs.

"Coming," she yelled. Then more softly, "why is this happening? We never hurt anybody."

"Oh Sookie, this isn't about anything you did. It's about a spoiled, petulant brat who wants what she wants when she wants it. She's a person who has never really had any rules to live by but the ones she made for herself, which were none."

"OK, I'm at the bottom of the stairs now, and I'm putting you in my pocket." That statement struck me as funny and, in spite of the situation, I smiled.

I waited for just a few seconds before I heard her open the door. "Look here you two, I'm recording you now. Just what the heck do you want? Did you break our window?"

Lorena was the first to speak, "that's nothing compared to what we are gonna break if you don't start fucking cooperating right now, you little bitch."

"Well, that kind of language just shows what a low class person you are. I need you two to get off our porch and go away right now."

Then Compton tried, "Sookie look at me. Good girl. You want to step outside right now. Be a good girl and step outside and come go with us. You want to meet the queen don't you? Won't that be so exciting?"

"You want me to step outside… meet the queen…" she said in an hypnotic monotone. I almost started laughing; my Sookie was messing with him; at least I hoped to hell she was.

"Yes, that's right. I want you to step outside and come go with us and you'll live with the queen in her palace. Just like a princess. You want to go with us don't you?"

There was a long pause. "Are you flippin' kidding me? There is no way I'm stepping outside, and no way I'm going to live with your crazy-assed queen, sorry for the swear word, Gran. But thank you for trying to glamour me on my video recording. This should make some very good self-incrimination to hand over to the cops, who, by the way, are on their way, apparently for the second night in a row."

Lorena chimed in, "You listen you fucking little cunt, get your fat fucking ass out here or I'll fucking kill everyone you ever fucking knew. If you don't come with us now, the queen will just send someone else. Whether you know it or not, you stupid little shit, you belong to her."

"Awesome! But could you say that again, I didn't have your face in the shot when you began, and you might want to clean up your language, or else it'll just be over-bleeped when they play this on the evening news." I had to put my hand over my mouth to keep my laughter from being overheard from the phone in her pocket. Then I started to hear the sound of sirens in the distance.

"Well, there's the cops on the way. And you all should know that they went to Shreveport today and picked up a whole bunch of really cool police-vampire gear. They are so ready to take you down now. I hope I can get that on my video, too! …Won't _that_ be so excitin'?"

Apparently Bill and Lorena took off at that because I heard the door shut, and Sookie picked up her phone from her pocket. "Are you still there?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. That was magnificent! I am so proud of you," I told her.

She let out a long breath. "Well, I faked my way through that pretty well, I guess."

"Can you send me a copy of the video? I'd like to have it just in case I may need it in the future."

"Sure. Well, the cops are almost here. I'll send you the video as soon as we hang up. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"I can hardly wait. Take care, my Sookie. And don't hesitate to call me if there are any other problems."

"Thanks… ," she let out a long sigh which was so fucking sexy, "good night, Eric."

* * *

When I removed myself from my pleasant memory fog, I realized it was almost time to get ready for my first date with Sookie Stackhouse. And I was oh so ready to get ready. I first jumped in the shower and then out again. Not quite at vampire speed, but probably faster than a human. I did enjoy my showers. I wiped the fogged-up mirror with my forearm and assessed my freshly washed body. It was the same body I'd had for a thousand years, but Sookie had never seen it before, and I tried to imagine seeing it for the first time. I'd been told numerous times over the centuries that it was nearly perfect, but I was trying to see it through her eyes. Would she think so?

Rather than muse on that too long, I grabbed the blow-dryer and made my hair as appealing as possible. I then walked out of the bathroom to hear from the TV, 'why you're no daisy at all…" The movie was near the end, but I appreciated the flower reference because I had put extra effort into flowers tonight. I only hoped the symbolism would be appreciated. This was her specialty after all. We'll see…

I grabbed my silver-grey Armani suit from my closet. It was fitted and made especially for me. I had thought to match it up with a black silk shirt and a pale silver tie. Once I had it all on, I checked myself out in the mirror. I thought I looked pretty good. But would Sookie think I did? By the gods, I hoped so. I looked at the time… still twenty-two minutes and 49…48…47 seconds to go. I hated getting ready too early and having to sit around and wait to leave. What to do , what to do…

I decided to play free cell while I listened to the end of _Tombstone._ I was no expert on the Academy Awards, but it seemed to me that the actor playing Doc Holliday should at least have been nominated. That was an epic performance, right up until his tragic end. If the real Doc Holliday had been just half as cool as the one portrayed on the screen, I would have turned him myself, if I had been on the continent at the time. As it was, I had considered turning that actor just for such a magnificent performance. By the time the credits were rolling, I was free!

I went upstairs and found the flowers that my day man had left for me to take to Bon Temps. It's actually rather hard to buy flowers for someone who owns a plant business, so I felt rather proud of myself for my efforts. I put the flowers in the passenger seat of the Corvette as I backed out and headed to Bon Temps. On the way there I called Thalia who, I was pleased to find, was already on the job.

"Where are our two troublemakers?"

"Obviously dumping them in Kansas wasn't far enough away. So when those idiots walked into the Weres' rope snares… again, and I smacked them on their heads… again, for the second time in as many nights, we decided to send them to Alaska."

I couldn't speak for a moment while I absorbed that information. "Alaska? How'd you manage that?"

And then I heard a sound that I never thought I would ever hear: Thalia was laughing. "We secured them in silver again, but this time we secured ball-gags in their mouths. Then we placed them in light-proof packing crates, and dropped them off at an air-freight flight at the airport. An acquaintance of mine is picking up the crates at the other end in Alaska with instructions to take them to the most remote spot he can find in the Alaskan wilderness before dropping them off - still bound and still in the crates. That should keep them out of the way for the next few weeks… or months." I laughed with her. "It would be simpler just to stake them."

"I agree, but messier if the Authority found out. Alaska, very good. I should warn you that I believe that Sophie Ann will be sending Andre in the next few days. But I have a plan for that, too," I paused to pull into Sookie's driveway. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow night before I head to New Orleans. Sophie Ann has summoned me."

"I don't envy you. I will be on the lookout for any signs of Andre."

"And I will talk to you tomorrow night." I parked my car and picked up the flowers. I went to the front door, knocked, and waited with my hands behind my back. Before long, Adele answered the door. "Good evening, Adele," I nodded at her.

"Well, don't you look all kinds of dashing," she smiled.

I brought my right hand from around my back and presented her with a bouquet of dahlias and freesias. She gasped and reached out to take them.

"My stars, these are so beautiful. And they smell heavenly. Sookie will really appreciate that you brought her such a thoughtful gift."

"Oh, Adele. Those aren't for Sookie; they're for you." And I immediately discovered where Sookie got her beautiful tendency to blush. She lifted the back of her hand to the side of her face. "Thank you, Eric." She turned to walk away, and I was still stuck outside the door.

"Excuse me, Adele," and she turned back to me. "I'm afraid you are going to have to invite me in."

"Oh my goodness. I'm afraid your lovely gift has me all discombobulated. Eric, won't you please come in?" And just like that, I was across the threshold. "Now if I remember my flower meanings correctly, dahlias mean something like blessings and standing strong in your sacred beliefs, and freesias symbolize, what is it?" I knew she'd know the symbolic meanings of flowers. "Oh yes, trust."

"You are correct, Adele. I know you are a woman who stands up for what she believes in, and I really want you to trust me to take care of your grandchildren."

"Thank you so much for all you are doing for them. I would be a mountain of worry if it weren't for you."

"You are most welcome. But especially regarding Sookie, helping them is my distinct pleasure." And that is when I saw Sookie coming down the stairs, and I realized that my earlier imaginings of her dress and how she looked didn't even come close to the vision I saw now. She had on a turquoise chiffon dress that billowed and swished even better than I could have thought. And her eyes, brilliant and shining, reflecting the color in the dress as magnificent turquoise, especially with her hair swept up in a sophisticated but simple chignon. And just like I had imagined, there were wisps of softly curling hair framing her perfect face and flowing down the back of her neck. It's a very good thing that I didn't need to breathe because if I did, I would be in danger of asphyxiating.

"Hello, Eric," she smiled that million watt smile at me as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

I tried to speak, but I actually found it difficult to get the air I needed in order to say words. For the first time in a thousand years I understood the phrase 'she takes my breath away.' When I finally recovered enough to form words I said, "you are a vision, My Sookie. These are for you." I brought my left hand from behind my back and offered her the bouquet I'd gotten especially for her.

"Oh, Eric. These are lovely – pansies and sweetpea. So beautiful."

"They are just flowers; you are beautiful."

"A+ for sweet talkin'."

"Oooh, Sookie, do you know what these flowers mean?" Adele asked. Sookie shook her head as she inhaled their fragrance. "Pansies are the flowers that symbolize fairies and magical realms, and sweetpea means innocence, but a sexy kind of innocence."

"Provocative innocence," I added, and I was rewarded with what I hoped was the first of many blushes this evening. "If we are going to make the ballet, we really need to get going."

Adele reached over for Sookie's flowers, and Sookie took one more sniff and handed them off to her. "I'll make sure to put these in water for you. Look at the flowers your beau brought for me," she added mischievously. Sookie's beau, eh? I could definitely live with that, and I smiled at Adele. I once again crooked my arm, "Shall we, Miss Stackhouse?"

"We shall, Mr. Northman," and she placed her hand inside my elbow, and then the little minx added, "Don't wait up, Gran."

We were off to the ballet. As we drove the distance to Shreveport, I couldn't help sneaking glances at the beautiful fairy sitting beside me. "I should warn you, Sookie. There will probably be photographers when we arrive at the theatre."

"Photographers? Why?"

"I got some news from the queen this afternoon, so I've set some things in motion to insure your protection. We can discuss it at length over dinner after the ballet. Right now I just want us to focus on having fun."

"OK. By the way, thanks for mentioning that I should have a little snack before we left, otherwise my rumbling stomach might drown out the orchestra," she smiled at me.

"We'll have a nice dinner after the performance." She nodded and looked forward. We then proceeded to make what I assumed was typical first date small talk, even though I was dying to take back my words about our 'not date' the other night. For two people with minimal dating experience, we seemed to be doing alright with our conversation. Time passed very quickly and we were soon pulling up to the Performing Arts Center's porte cochere. If you purchased box seats to the theatre, you got the added valet service that went with it. That way you avoided the parking garage mass exodus after the performance.

Two valet's approached the car, one at each door. I got out and walked around to extend my hand to Sookie. When she was out, she quickly put her hand into my welcoming crooked elbow, and we started toward the entrance. As I had told Sookie before, there were about half a dozen photographers snapping pictures as patrons entered the theatre. I leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Showtime." She looked up at me curiously, and I nodded toward the photographers and whispered, "Give them that dazzling smile of yours." And it was if I had flipped on a switch; her smile lit up the entire room. We were looking into each other eyes, and I noticed several camera flashes in my periphery. I was hoping this specific pose would make the newspapers; it was just what I needed for my plan to work. I determined right then that I would track down a copy for my wall, no matter what it took.

After we pushed our way past the photographers, we were making our way toward the theatre's bar, and I asked Sookie if she would like a drink. Before she could answer a tall brunette approached us.

"Mr. Northman?" We turned to her. "I'm Cecile Peveto, _The Shreveport Times_. It's always good to see our local entrepreneurs out and about supporting the arts. Are you a devotee of the ballet?"

"I enjoy the ballet very much; I have for many years."

"So you are familiar with _The Sleeping Beauty?_ " I nodded. "When did you first see it?"

"Actually, I saw the very first production of it in St. Petersburg. Marius Petipά sat just a few seats over from me in the audience."

"Petipά?" She was scratching away at the notes on her pad.

"The original choreographer. His daughter Marie danced the part of the Lilac Fairy."

"When was that?"

"1890." Her pen stopped moving. She slowly looked up at me, and her eyebrows were up around her hairline. I could feel Sookie shaking from fighting back laughter. "Miss Peveto, may I introduce another area entrepreneur, Miss Sookie Stackhouse. She is co-owner of The Enchanted Forest."

"The landscaping business?"

"Yes," Sookie answered softly.

"I've heard great things about your business. Maybe I could do a feature on it sometime."

"That would be great. Just give me a call."

"Well, thank you, Miss Peveto, but we want to get to the performance." I extended my hand and she took it. I gave her hand a little jerk and she looked up into my eyes, "You want to call Miss Stackhouse on Monday morning so that you can get an article about her and her business into the paper as soon as possible."

"I'll give you a call Monday morning, Miss Stackhouse, so that I can get an article into the paper about you as soon as I can, OK?"

Sookie looked at me, and then slowly turned to look at her. "OK." At that, Miss Peveto turned and walked away.

"Eric, what did you just do?" Sookie whispered. "You glamoured her, didn't you?"

I turned and waggled my eyebrows. "It's all part of my plan. You know, the one I'm telling you about at dinner after the show? Now, did you want a drink?"

She laughed, "Not now, but I might want a gin and tonic at intermission."

"We can pre-order that now. It will be waiting for you at the break. Wait, right here." And I went and placed the order. Then we headed to our seats.

"Was that all true, about that choreographer Pepita?"

"Petipά, and yes it was. I was a great admirer of his work. Today he is considered one of the greatest choreographers of all time. I'm sure we'll see some of it tonight."

"You really, really love the ballet!"

I shrugged. "I guess I do. The mastery these dancers have over their own bodies… Their ability to tell such a complete textual and emotional story without any words… The way the power of the music ties it all together… I always feel a little bit in awe at it all." I looked at her, "And after such a long life, I can't help but embrace anything that still induces that kind of wonder."

She looked at me for a moment. "Sometimes you say things that inspire awe in me."

And I felt for the first time in a thousand years that if I were human right now, I would probably be blushing at her words. Since that wasn't physically possible, I leaned forward and kissed her softly on her forehead. "The feeling is completely mutual, my Sookie," I whispered.

It was then that the house lights went down, and the conductor emerged into the spotlight on the orchestra pit. He bowed to the audience, and we politely applauded. He turned to the orchestra and raised his arms, his baton in his right hand. Then he gave the downbeat, and the overture began.

 **AN** : We will continue with the first date in the next chapter. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the kind words you put into your reviews; holy cow, do they ever really motivate me to keep writing.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – The Actual Date, part 2

The First Intermission:

The lights came up, but Sookie didn't move; she was still looking at the curtained stage. I thought I'd give her a moment, and then we would go get her drink at the bar — the one I'd pre-ordered for her. After two full minutes of no movement, I finally tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped as if startled and quickly turned to me. "Earth to Sookie?" I asked.

At first she just looked at me, through me, and then her eyes refocused. Finally she spoke, "Wow. I completely understand why you like this… That was amazing."

I smiled at her, "Let's get your drink. You only have about fifteen minutes until Act Two begins." I took her hand and led her out into the adjacent lobby area. I picked up her drink and handed it to her, but she was staring into the distance.

"This is… so magical. It's like nothing I've ever seen."

"I was hoping you would like it. You know, the dance with Aurora and her suitors is called the Rose Adagio. It's considered one of the most difficult dances in the ballet canon. I think they acquitted themselves quite nicely tonight."

She tilted her head to the side and gave me a winsome smile. "Sometimes you say things that remind me of my college professors. Like you know and understand things beyond what mere mortals can know."

That statement gave me pause. I'd never thought of my accumulation of experience in quite that way. And then she started laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"You were a Viking for Pete's sake," she whispered as she shook her head. "History teaches that Vikings were basically barbarians. And yet, I'm standing here, utterly fascinated, while listening to you explain the Rose Adagio of a classical ballet to me. What's wrong with this picture?"

I smiled at her, "Oh my Sookie, I've had over a thousand years to invest in learning things, especially things I enjoy. But make no mistake, I can still go quite barbaric if the situation calls for it. Berserker, in fact. But you can rest assured that I will only do that in protection of you." She seemed to take my words quite seriously as she stared into my eyes. Gods, but she was beautiful. I tried hard for a moment to find her flaws, any flaws, but I could find none. It was at that moment that I knew I was in danger. I mentally flashed back to the sixties and _Lost in Space,_ 'Danger, Will Robinson, danger'.

I was falling in love.

After a thousand years of thinking I was totally immune to the concept, I was really and truly falling in love. Pam would have such a field-day with this if she found out. And then a more sobering thought, what would Godric say?

And I realized that Sookie and I were still staring into each other's eyes. And suddenly it didn't matter where we were. I put my hand behind her head, bent down and kissed her. Public displays of affection were not something I ever, EVER did. But here I was kissing the most beautiful woman on earth in a crowded theatre lobby. My eyes were closed as I felt her mouth under mine. I swept my tongue over her lips and she opened her mouth to me, and we deepened the kiss. And just as with everything else to do with Sookie, her kiss was more than I had imagined it would be. Finally, I heard the lobby speaker bell tones indicating that intermission was coming to an end. I pulled back, and she took a deep breath. She looked at me for a moment longer before she raised her glass to her lips and drained the rest of her drink in one long gulp.

She handed me her empty glass and thanked me. I asked her if she would like another for the next/last intermission and she nodded. I went to the bar, placed that order, then returned to her, and we went back into our seats. Once we were seated again, she turned to me and said, "In case I forget to later, I want to really, really thank you for bringing me here tonight. I'm having such a good time."

"As am I, my Sookie."

"Are you? Really?"

"Absolutely. You were right; I really enjoy the ballet. I tried to take Pamela, my child, a few times, but she didn't really like it. Basically she thought the dancers were too and I quote 'flat-chested', so you have no idea how refreshing I find your reaction to the experience." It was then that the house lights lowered, the conductor once again walked into the orchestra pit spotlight, he bowed, we all applauded, and the second act began. Interestingly, the dancers portraying Aurora and Prince Florimund both had blond hair, like Sookie and I. It was almost prophetic, and I was sure that as insightful as she seemed to be, Sookie was drawing the same parallels.

At one point in the act Sookie reached over and took my hand. That felt right. When the scene came where Prince Florimund kissed the sleeping Aurora to awaken her, she squeezed my hand ever so slightly. I think we were both thinking about the kiss in the lobby. I know I was. During the second intermission we were both well-behaved, but we did make meaningful eye contact several times followed by smiles on both our faces. During the final act Aurora and Florimund danced the famous _grand pas de deux._ Several times during that dance I swear I saw Sookie's upper body undulate forward as if pulled by some invisible string related to the dance or the music and then settle back into her seat. That was just about the sexiest reaction to a ballet I'd ever seen. When the ballet ended the city of Shreveport gave the Joffrey Ballet Company a standing ovation.

I took Sookie's hand as we made our way to the porte cochere; I found that I quite liked touching her. We were both quiet on our way there, as I've found that people often are when they are trying to process the art they've just witnessed. We emerged from the building, and I could see my corvette at the curb among the other cars belonging to those who had purchased box seats. I handed my ticket to the valet and we made our way over. Once we were in the car, we pulled away from the theatre, and Sookie spoke her first words since the end of the ballet, "How often does the ballet play here in Shreveport?"

"Unfortunately, not very often. There's a local dance company, but it's not the same. I think we get a touring company about every two years or so."

"That's too bad. I would love to make a regular habit of this."

"We still could. Dallas and Houston both have really fine ballet companies. Dallas is only about an hour and a half drive. Houston's a bit further, but it's only a forty-five minute flight. The Houston Ballet Company is especially good; I've often thought about getting season tickets."

"Why am I not surprised that you know this? Why didn't you?"

I shrugged, "Maybe I will, now that I have someone to go with me." And I got the daily double: she smiled _and_ she blushed. "So, are you hungry?"

"Sure am. Where are we going?"

"You'll see," I smiled back at her. "I've been wondering… How is that you know about the vampire hierarchy?"

She laughed, "You sure know how to change the subject, Eric. I guess between our granddaddy Fintan and Uncle Des… over time we picked up tidbits here and there. We are supes ourselves you know."

"So no formal supe education? Like, Vampire 101, Two-natured 102?"

We laughed together. "No, nothing as formal as that," she paused, "but that sure would be convenient, wouldn't it?" She looked out of the window of the car. "What classes would they offer? Vampires: Etiquette, Hierarchy, and What Will Kill Them?"

She started laughing and I added, "How about The Two-natured: Breeding Instincts, House-breaking, and the Full Moon?" And we were both laughing.

"If all the supernatural eventually reveal themselves, there may be entire college degree programs on just the supernatural. There are already vampire psychology and sociology programs offered at a lot of colleges." She thought for a moment, "Do you think one of those vampire psychologists could help Bill Compton?" We looked at each other in silence for a moment before we erupted in laughter so hard that even I was afraid I might wreck my car. "Oh my God, Eric, you have blood tears rolling down your face!"

I took the tissue she retrieved from her purse and wiped my eyes. Gods… There was no further doubt about it; I loved this woman. Yes, I thought she was beautiful, but it was so much more than that. She was smart and witty and open-minded and kind and creative and articulate and, and, and… _fun_. Well, with all that, what more did she need? She was kind of perfect; at least she was perfect to me. More importantly, she was perfect _for_ me. And I hadn't even had sex with her yet!

We pulled up to the restaurant, and Sookie gasped, "This is the Plantation House! I've heard of it all my life, but I've never been here."

"You approve then?"

"Oh, Eric. This is just about the best night of my life. As if the ballet weren't enough, now we're at one of the finest restaurants in Louisiana… or the entire south… maybe the United States." I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"So, I made a good choice, I take it."

"You made an excellent choice." The valet opened her door, and I came around and took her hand to help her from the car. We walked up to the double front doors which were opened by two uniformed doormen. The restaurant was established in a beautiful, fully-restored antebellum plantation home on the outskirts of Shreveport. The entire first floor was the dining area. The upstairs had been fitted out to be banquet rooms of varying sizes, and the ballroom was a popular local wedding reception spot for those who could afford to pay for the very best. The long drive up to the house was lined with very old cypress trees with long strands of Spanish moss drooping from the branches. I knew her southern sensibilities would like this place.

Despite the late hour, the restaurant was packed. No doubt with many who attended the ballet. I walked up to the hostess podium and told her I had reservations, and we were seated immediately. I breathed a sigh of relief since I had no financial or supernatural 'in' with this restaurant. Our table was next to an ornate indoor fountain with the tinkling of water falling from the urns held by a trio of playful cherubs. There was soft classical music playing in the background as well. All in all, it was a very elegant setting, and being next to the fountain afforded us a certain amount of privacy, not to mention romance.

Soon after we were seated an older man in a tuxedo approached our table, "Good evening, I am Elliott, your sommelier this evening. May I make some recommendations?" I wondered how Sookie would respond, but she didn't disappoint.

"Well, Elliott, I don't know what I'm having to eat yet, but what would you recommend for before? For, let's say, stimulatin' pre-dinner conversation. Something tasty, I hope."

"I would be very happy to make a recommendation. But first, does mademoiselle prefer white or red, sweet or dry?"

"Definitely red and definitely dry," she answered.

"Full-bodied or lighter?" What language were they speaking? Sookie seemed to mull her answer over for a moment.

"More toward the lighter end, I think."

He seemed to mull her answer over for a minute, "Then may I recommend the Escarpment Pahi Pinot Noir 2014 from New Zealand or The Belle Glos Clark & Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015 from the Willamette Valley of Oregon?"

"I'm feeling kind of kiwi this evening, so let's go with the New Zealand."

"A very good choice, mademoiselle. I'll be right back with your wine." After the sommelier left she looked at me and recognized my confusion. She raised her eyebrows in question.

"I've spoken English for centuries, and I couldn't follow that conversation at all!"

She grinned mischievously, " we weren't speaking English; we were speaking wine."

"I speak more than twenty languages, but I must confess, wine isn't one of them."

"Why would it be? You can't drink it, and you've already told me you don't date. There's no reason why you should be fluent in 'wine'".

"But apparently you are."

"I like wine. So shoot me," she shrugged and smiled widely.

"I'm just getting over the fact that a small-town girl knew what a sommelier was."

"I are a college gradjet, Eric." I burst out laughing.

"Point taken, Sookie," I replied. "I'm just surprised that _anyone_ from Bon Temps even knows what a sommelier is."

"We may be rural, but guess what… We have a library!" And with that she started perusing the menu she'd been handed when we were seated. "My, it all looks so good."

Elliott returned to our table with a bottle and wine glass in hand. He presented the label first to me and then to Sookie. She nodded and he proceeded to open the bottle and pour a small amount into the glass. Sookie took a sip, "That is very nice. Thank you, Elliott." He then poured her a fuller glass of the wine and put the bottle down on the table. "Do you have any recommendations of what would go well with this wine?"

Elliott nodded, "If I may, I would suggest the Steak Oscar or the Veal Scallopini. Both would blend wonderfully."

Sookie nodded, looking at the menu, "Thank you, Elliott." With that he nodded again and left.

I was curious, "What is Steak Oscar?"

"It's only one of the reasons I could never be a vampire. It's steak and asparagus covered in béarnaise sauce. Really, really good."

"Is that what you want to order?"

"Absolutely. I bet it's divine here."

Just then a waiter approached the table, "Good evening, I'm Steven, and I'll be your waiter. Do you need more time?" We both shook our head. "Very well, what can I get for you? Mademoiselle?"

"I'll have the Steak Oscar, please."

"How would you like your steak prepared?"

"Medium rare. "

"Excellent selection, in addition to the potatoes underneath and the asparagus, fresh crabmeat and béarnaise sauce on top, it also comes with a salad with the restaurant's signature dressing," he took her menu from her, "and for Monsieur?"

"I'll have the Royalty Blend," I answered as I handed him my menu.

"Very well, would you like it served with Mademoiselle's salad or her entrée?"

"With her salad, I think."

"I'll be back shortly with the salad and your Royalty Blend." And he was off.

We sat in silence for a moment. Sookie was the first to speak, "I really like the trickling sound of this fountain; it feels really romantic."

Did I dare? Yes, I did, "anywhere with you would feel romantic, Sookie."

She looked at me ever so coyly, "A+ for sweet talk. As a matter of fact, I'm giving you an A+ for the whole date!"

"As much as I desire your good grades, I'm afraid there are some things we need to discuss." I hated to break into our little bubble of euphoria, but there were things she needed to know, to do. She drained the wine in her glass. I reached over and refilled it.

She released a long sigh, "OK, hit me with it."

I nodded, "I arose today to find an email from the queen. She's demanding my presence in New Orleans for a meeting at first dark on Monday, which means I'll need to go there on Sunday night. As you recall from the video of her call with Bill Compton, Monday was the deadline she had given him to acquire you and your brother. So I think it's safe to assume that she wants me out of the way for her child Andre to come up here and accomplish what Compton could not."

"Oh my God, Eric. What are we gonna do?" Just then the waiter walked up and placed Sookie's salad in front of her and my Royalty Blend in front of me, and then he left us alone again. Sookie didn't move for a moment and then she slowly picked up a fork, "Really, Eric, what are we gonna do?"

"We've already started doing it," I said, and she looked at me puzzled. "Tonight we just went public," she still looked confused. "Do you think those photographers and the reporter from _The Times_ just happened to be there tonight?" I paused. "I called and arranged all that."

"Why would you do that Eric? When the queen finds out she may have you killed for treason!"

I smiled at her, "Remember, Sookie, as far as Sophie Ann is concerned, I have no idea who Compton was after. My being so open with our … relationship, just goes to prove that."

A wicked grin appeared on Sookie's face. "Plausible deniability," she smirked.

I nodded, "Ding, ding, ding, got it in one."

She giggled and asked, "How do you know that expression?"

I feigned indignity and said, "I watch television," and I continued, "that's phase one of my rather brilliant plan," I waggled my eyebrows.

"And phase two?"

I smiled, "part one of phase two is that you, your brother, and The Enchanted Forest become even more well known than you already are with a full spread in _The Shreveport Times._ Then part two of phase two is the leak of two things to the press: first, the video you took of Bill and Lorena to the television news, followed by the leak of information of the American vampire hierarchy to the media as well. After the feature about you in the paper, the video should garner enough steam to go national, in concert with the breaking news of the vampire hierarchy."

"Wow, will that all be enough to make the queen back off?"

"Probably not… that's where phase three comes in."

"Of course, there must be a phase three, how silly of me."

I raised my eyebrows as if to ask 'may I continue?' and she smiled and nodded. "At this point, since the vampire super-secret infrastructure has been revealed, The Authority steps forward. Do you know about The Authority?" She shook her head. "The Authority is the final and highest step on the vampire power-structure ladder. They oversee ALL vampires, including monarchs. They are the ones who originated and enforce mainstreaming. They are the ones who ultimately decided we would reveal ourselves. They will step forward, condemn the words and actions implied in the video, and issue a public directive to ALL vampires, including monarchs, regarding the abduction and/or imprisonment of _anyone_ , human or otherwise."

"How do you know The Authority will do all of this?" It was then that the waiter arrived with Sookie's entrée, and I must admit it looked and smelled really good.

"Will you require anything else right now?" the waiter asked.

"No, this looks amazing, thanks, Steven," Sookie added.

"Bon appétit, Mademoiselle," and he was gone. I had to admire the staff for their efficiency and for not hovering. Sookie cut into her steak and tasted it. If I didn't know better I would have said that her eyes rolled back into her head, and she made the sexiest groan.

"Oh. My. God. This very well may be the best thing I've ever tasted in my life!" I couldn't help but smile as her bliss. "So, how exactly do you know The Authority will do as you expect?"

"Ah, yes. Well, let's just say I have friends in high places, or more specifically a friend, and it's all been arranged."

At that she let out a huge sigh and just laughed, "I would hate to play chess with you, Eric."

"And that is exactly what this is, my Sookie, one big chess match, and in chess you always have to think several plays ahead of your opponent."

Sookie's smile slowly faded from her face, and she became uncharacteristically pensive. That made me suddenly uncomfortable. "What is it?" I asked after a few moments.

She looked up at me, and I swear it looked like she had fear on her face. "This all sounds great, and I want you to know that I am really, really grateful…"

"But…"

"But this public protection launches with the story in the paper, which could take several days to appear, and Andre is going to be here by Monday. What do we do in the meantime? We can't just lock ourselves in our homes at first dark every night. We have a business to run, lives to live." She paused and then added, "and what do we do if he hires somebody to come at us in the daytime?"

Well, what do you know? My Sookie was a strategic thinker. "Not to worry, my Sookie. I have a solution to those problems as well as your need to hire more staff for The Enchanted Forest." Her eyes got wide at that statement. "I contacted Colonel Flood this afternoon. He's the packmaster of the Shreveport Were pack. He's going to send six of his most able and trustworthy young pack members to you Monday morning. Technically, they are coming to work for you in your landscaping business, but really they will also be bodyguards. One for each of you and two floaters for general security issues."

At first she just looked at me in surprise. "One for each of us?" I smiled internally as I remembered Doc Holliday's line in _Tombstone_ that set me on this path.

"You, Jason, Adele, and Lafayette. No one is going to get near you in the daytime." She stopped eating and just stared at me for a moment. "I leave nothing to chance, Sookie. I have also arranged more night time protection for each of you as well: Thalia is already your grandmother's guard, but I have arranged for a talented brujo… witch named Jesus Velasquez to guard Lafayette, and I've hired a couple night time bodyguards for you and Jason as well. These new guards will be in addition to the night time Weres I already have in place."

Now Sookie looked stunned. "Wow, Eric. That… that… I have no words," she paused contemplating something. "I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but there's just one flaw in your plan that I can see," and she paused for an uncomfortably long moment, and I leaned further and further forward waiting for her to finish that statement. She finally spoke, "you see, I'm not sure our business can afford six new full-time employees right now."

And I smiled… and my smile gave way to full-on laughter at which she put her fork down, and oh no she didn't just raise her eyebrow at me. "My Sookie… remember, I am your silent partner. These Weres will be on my payroll." Now she was raising both eyebrows at me. "In addition, your business is about to get a big boost from a full-page spread article in the newspaper." She still seemed unconvinced. "Sookie, this is about your safety as well as the safety of your family. Let me take care of that… Please?" She had no way of knowing that I _never_ said 'please' to anyone, but I would say it to her as much as I needed to in order to convince her to let me do what needed to be done. "Do you think that Thalia and the Weres I have guarding your home at night have been donating their time?" Actually that was true for Thalia, whom I intended to start paying, but Sookie didn't need to know that.

Sookie remained quiet for a few minutes, but she resumed eating. Finally she said, "OK, Eric, but I want you to keep track of how much you're spending so that we can someday repay you. That's what you are supposed to do for investors, right?"

I breathed an internal sigh of relief, and thought about how she would react if she knew how much her and Jason's personal bodyguards were going to cost. I just prayed that she never found out. I smiled at her and nodded.

She ate for a moment in silence as I sipped my Royalty Blend. "Uhmm, there isn't a phase four is there?"

I chuckled, "No, I've told you all the phases I've put in place, but if more steps need to be taken, I'll keep you informed. However, the three new bodyguards for you, Jason, and Lafayette should arrive tomorrow night. They've been instructed to come to your house and introduce themselves, so it would be good if all four of you were there. They are to report to Thalia, and she will bring them up to the house. It would also be a good idea to invite Thalia in, so that if she ever needs to protect Adele inside the house, she can get to her. I trust her."

"OK. I guess I'm pretty full," she put her fork down, but her meal was half-eaten at best. Soon, Steven came to our table.

"Is mademoiselle finished?"

"Yes, Steven, thank you. It was very, very good."

"Would you like me to wrap the rest up to take home?"

"That would be great, thank you."

"I'll be right back," he said as he removed Sookie's plate from the table and walked away.

"So, is Thalia our only vampire bodyguard? You didn't say anything about the guards you got for me and Jason. What are they?"

I was afraid she'd ask about them, and I had to remind myself that I promised never to lie to her. "They're… professional bodyguards." Maybe she'd leave it at that.

"Are they human?"

No such luck. "No, they are something …else."

She chuckled, "Evasive much?" she paused. "Eric, seriously what are they?"

I released a long sigh. "They are Britlingens." I braced myself for her wrath.

"They are Britwhat?" Well, surprise, surprise; Sookie didn't know what a Britlingen was.

"Britlingens. They are a special supernatural race whose specialty happens to be as bodyguards for hire. I was lucky, and I was able to get two, one each for you and Jason."

She looked sideways at me. "That sounds pretty expensive. How much did hiring them set you back?"

"My Sookie. I promised that I would never lie to you and I won't," I winked. She leaned forward in anticipation of the rest of my answer. "I also won't tell you the answer to that question," I looked at her raising my eyebrows as if in challenge.

She raised her eyebrows right back at me, "Excuse me?"

"If I were to give you a gift of say… jewelry, for example, would you ask me what it cost?" She started to speak, but I gently put my index finger over her luscious lips. "No, you wouldn't because that would be considered rude. So now you have a choice. You can either graciously accept my gift of protection, or," and I removed my finger from her mouth, "you can let your pride get all in the way and pitch a rather ungracious fit." I shrugged. "The choice is yours."

I'm not entirely sure, but I do believe that she actually harrumphed and then proceeded to fidget in her seat for about half a minute. She was so fucking adorable. When she settled herself our waiter returned with the remainder of her meal wrapped up, and he presented me with the check. I fished my credit card out of my pocket and handed it to him without looking at it. Sookie turned her head to look at the fountain, and the waiter walked away.

"Sookie, look at me." She rather reluctantly faced me. "I've had over a thousand years to acquire wealth. And I tried never to waste an opportunity to do so. I'm not saying this to brag or impress you, but if I never earned another cent, I still couldn't spend all of the money I have now in another thousand years. But I will earn more money," I looked at her. "But I have to wonder, what good is that fortune, if I can't help people I, I … care about?"

Once again, she gave me that coy look and smiled, "Did you just censor yourself, Eric? You told me not to do that, remember?"

I smiled and nodded, "Yes, I did." I took a long, long pause to gather my thoughts. "Sookie, I've spent the last thousand years thinking that I would never, ever feel what you are making me feel," and I felt the need for another pause. "I know that technically this is our first date, but… what I'm feeling for you… I think… "

"You can do it, I know you can. Just spit it out," she grinned.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." There I'd said it, and I realized I'd never been genuinely terrified in my life until this moment. I didn't dare breathe as I stared into her eyes.

She stared right back into my eyes for the longest moment before she added, "Thank God, I was afraid I was going there all by myself." We both let that thought absorb in for a minute before we both started laughing. We reached our hands across the small table toward each other. I squeezed her hand a little and breathed easily for the first time since I can't remember when. It was then that our waiter arrived with my credit card statement. I put a $100 tip on the statement and signed my name.

"We have one more stop to make this evening, my Sookie." She nodded back at me as we rose and made our way to the door. It was almost two o'clock and I knew Fangtasia would still be open for another hour.

"Where are we going?"

"Remember, we are going public with our relationship." I looked at her as we waited for the valet to bring my car. "I am taking you to Fangtasia, so that all the vampires in my retinue can see us together," I said. "Do you like to dance?"

"I love to dance, Eric. What a perfect way to end the evening." Oh gods, I hoped not.

 **AN:** More of the date to come… I always used to wonder why fanfic authors constantly requested reviews, but now I get it, so remember, reviews motivate me to keep writing… I love to hear from you!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – The Actual Date, part 3, and more

As we waited for the valets to bring my car to the front of the restaurant, Sookie slipped her hand into mine, and it felt so damn right. Then she reached across and grabbed my upper arm with her other hand and leaned her head against my shoulder. I closed my eyes and smiled. There was something just so intimate about the way we were standing together. After a moment, I brought my other hand up to the side of her face and caressed her while I leaned my cheek against the top of her head. I'd never felt so close to anyone in my life. Not even Godric, with whom I'd shared everything. But there we stood, side by side, sharing caresses. I was almost disappointed when my car arrived.

I helped her into the car and headed toward Fangtasia. So many wonderful things had happened tonight that I almost hated to ruin it all with the crassness that was Fangtasia. However, this appearance together was essential to my public romance plan. I knew that at least one, maybe more, of the vampires in my retinue were actually spies for Sophie Ann. I'd never really cared before because I had nothing to hide. Now, however, was different. If I were going to convince Sophie Ann of my innocence regarding Sookie, then we needed to be open with our relationship in Fangtasia. However, that was the place where I was most the sheriff, so I needed to warn Sookie.

"Sookie," I started, "Fangtasia is where I, uhm, host all of my sheriff activities. I may act a little differently there."

"What do you mean?" she asked. Good question.

"So much of vampirism is façade." She looked at me quizzically. "Oh so much is façade, Sookie. Although I want everyone there to know we are together, I may act a little aloof. I just want you to know that it is just an act."

She looked forward for a moment before she added, "OK." And then she shook her head and looked out of the side window.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." She sat in silence for a moment. "Actually, I was just thinking how difficult it must be to act differently to what you are actually feeling. I would hate to have to do that on a regular basis." She paused before she continued, "you are a man, vampire, with political power. More importantly, you are a powerful man. Why do you feel the need to put on any kind of pretense?"

That was a very good question, and one that I would have to think on quite seriously in the future. But for now, it was what it was. "You are completely right, Sookie. But for now, if I changed too much in one night it might raise too many questions. So for now, we are going to have to go with how things have been. Is that OK with you?"

She was quiet for another minute. "I get it, Eric, I really do, and I'm OK with it. You aren't going to embarrass me or anything, right?"

"Absolutely not. I just wanted you to understand if you found me somewhat aloof in the bar, that it wasn't really how I'm feeling."

"OK, got it. And thanks for the heads up." And she turned her brilliant smile to me. Damn, but I was a lucky, lucky vampire. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

We turned the corner into the Fangtasia parking lot which I was pleased to see was still packed. I pulled right up to the front door and parked. I got out and vamped around the car before Sookie could open her door, and I took her hand to help her out. I decided to keep her hand as we walked to the entrance where Maxwell Lee was working the door. We nodded to each other as I passed into the bar.

We were about ten feet inside the bar when a heard Sookie let out a little chuckle. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she just shook her head. We walked over to my booth and slid in. I leaned over to whisper, "What was so funny?"

She shook her head again and whispered, "this feels a little bit like what a vampire bar would look like if it were a ride at Disneyworld."

Just then Ginger appeared at our table and bowed, "Master, can I get you anything?"

I turned to see if Sookie wanted anything, but she had a look of shock on her face as she was staring a Ginger. "Sookie, would you like something to drink?" She didn't respond. "Sookie?"

Then she seemed to shake herself out of her stupor. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Just a gingerale, please." And Ginger was off to the bar.

"Everything all right?"

"That waitress… I think there's something wrong with her brain," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she has some pretty graphic thoughts about you, but there are lots of … I don't know … holes in her thought process."

This was the first time her telepathy had come up all night, and I wondered why. "Ginger has been with us the longest, and she's seen quite a bit that she probably shouldn't have."

"So she's been glamoured a lot? I guess that would account for the holes. Eric, is that a throne?" Her attention was on the dais.

"Uhmm, yeah it is." She looked at me with the cutest wrinkle between her eyebrows. "Remember when you thought this place looked like a Disney ride? Well, each ride has a main attraction, right?"

"And what would that be in here? Or should I say who?" I just smirked at her. "No. Way." I nodded, and she chuckled. "Is that ego or what?"

I shook my head, "Actually, I hate sitting up there, but people pay a lot of money to come here and see vampires. Sitting up there makes them feel they are getting their money's worth." Ginger returned with Sookie's drink and a bottle of Tru Blood for me. "Pamela will join us in a moment. Remember, you've known her for a while," I whispered in her ear and she nodded. I'd already informed Pam of everything I was doing. Less than a minute later she was there.

"Good evening, Master. Sookie, it's been too long."

"Yes it has, Pamela. So good to m … see you … again."

"Oh how many times do I have to tell you just to call me Pam?"

"Sorry, I keep forgetting, _Pam._ Won't you join us?" Pam slid into the booth.

"We still have to set up that shopping date we've talked about. I want to show you some of the boutiques I've found. That's a beautiful dress, by the way, where did you find it?"

I laughed internally at the little fiction they were creating on the spot. "Thank you, Pam. I got this at Tara's Togs. My friend Tara owns the cutest little store on the outskirts of Bon Temps; really fun fashions – a lot of them are one-of-a-kind. I think you'd like it; it's rather high end for our neck of the woods. I can take you there, too."

"Excellent. Let's find a time and do it. How's you handsome brother?"

Sookie laughed, "Oh, he's just fine. You know Jason. He's out with some pretty girl tonight, I'm sure."

"You know, I've always meant to ask. How did the two of you get into the plant business?" Good question, Pam, I had wondered that myself.

"Our Gran always had a prize rose garden. She actually had all kinds of flowers growing in her garden, but her roses were the best. She belonged to the Garden Club, and when Jason and I were old enough she let us help. We both really loved doing that every year, and as we got older and started thinking about college, we talked it over, and we decided that we loved it enough to major in botany in my case and horticulture in Jason's. There are a lot of similarities in those majors, but with enough differences to make sure we know all that we need to know to be successful." She laughed softly and added, "plus, we learned we have a particular, inborn acumen for growing plants." I knew that translated into the fact that their fairy background gave them natural green thumbs. I suspected that there was a lot more to say about their fairy gifts, but she surmised correctly that this was not the place to go into that.

"You also got a degree in business, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yes, I did, as did Lafayette, and luckily for all of us, he focused a lot on bookkeeping and accounting. Among the three of us we've covered most of our business' bases. Jason and Laf were graduating from college the same year I graduated from high school, and they got jobs with the Shreveport Park District. That gave them valuable experience, and even more valuable contacts. Our first major landscaping job turned out to be the City of Shreveport Building Complex."

"Why don't you two set up your shopping date; I'll be right back," I said as I slid out of the booth. I watched them as I walked away, and they seemed to be seriously setting up that date. It made me smile that 'both' my girls seemed to be getting along. I went straight to the DJ booth and put in my request because it was getting close to time to close for the evening. I knew exactly what I wanted him to play. By the time I got back to our table, the current hard rock song was coming to an end, and the DJ made his announcement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we only have about ten minutes to last call, and by request we are going to slow things down a little."

I reached out my hand to Sookie, she took it, and we went together to the dance floor. The crowd in the bar parted for our passage as the first notes of 'Breathing Underwater' by Emeli Sandé started. Since, in all the time the bar had been open I had _never_ danced, we pretty much had the dance floor to ourselves. Sookie put her left arm onto my right arm and shoulder, and I held her right hand in the traditional dance formation. Even though we were dancing closely, it didn't feel close enough, and I pulled her cheek into my chest and held her hand closely between us as I softly caressed her lower back. Once again, she didn't disappoint; she was a marvelous dancer. About half-way through the song I leaned my cheek onto the top of her head. I didn't know it at the time, but Pam would tell me later that we both had our eyes closed, but every other eye in the bar was on the two of us. Perfect. When the song ended, we just froze in place until the next song, 'Steady As We Go' by the Dave Matthews Band, started, and we continued dancing together.

At the end of that song she backed her head away from my chest and smiled that beautiful smile at me, and I couldn't help it, I smiled right back. "Are you ready to go," I asked.

"Sure," she asked with an inquiring look on her face. I nodded to her as I took her to the booth to retrieve her purse. She said goodbye to Pam, and we headed to my car. Once we were on the road again, I said, "you were perfect in there, Sookie."

She let out a small laugh, "Well, if that was you being aloof, you have my permission to do that any time." I joined her laughter.

"You make me forget myself. I loved dancing with you," I paused. "I wish I didn't have to take you home." I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.

"I told you my rule. If only this weren't our first date," she sighed shaking her head. Was she really going to hold me to that? Then she turned and looked very seriously at me, and I knew that she was totally going to hold me to it. Well, that'll teach me to open my big mouth. Ah, well… I'd still had more fun tonight than I'd had in centuries.

As we drove to Bon Temps I held her hand over the console between our bucket seats. Every once in a while I pulled her hand up to my mouth and kissed the back of it. I could feel the warmth of her skin increase every time I did so. There was a comfortable silence that settled between us, and I realized that this must have been a really long day for her. She had been at work this morning, since it was Jason's morning off, and she had been going non-stop since then. I had to admire her stamina. Then I looked over and noticed that she had fallen asleep. I smiled to myself; she was so, so beautiful. When I pulled in and came to a stop in her driveway, it was a little after four o'clock in the morning. And, I really hated to wake her up, but I gently shook her, "Sookie, Sookie, my lover, wake up."

She slowly opened her eyes. Then she began apologizing. "No, Sookie, stop. I know this has been a long day for you." I reached over and unfastened her seat belt. Then I got out of the car and came to her side and opened the door. I extended my hand and helped her out of the car. She just stood there trying to shake the cobwebs from her brain, and I just held her.

"Eric, this has been the best night of my life. Thank you so much!"

"For me as well, my Sookie. Now I have a lot to live up to for the next time we are together," I smiled. "I will be here tonight to help with the introductions of your new bodyguards before I have to head to New Orleans. Remember to tell everyone about it and to be here." I looked down at her.

She was looking back up at me. "I will." Her eyes were frozen on mine. I leaned down and kissed her. And kissed her. And she kissed me right back. Ultimately, I backed her to my car and we were leaning against the side of it. Kissing. While our tongues did that ancient dance together, I felt our bodies close into each other. I was very aware of when her hand ran up into my hair to hold on. By the gods, I could kiss this woman forever. My hands began to wander. My right hand traveled down her back to her luscious bottom while my left hand came around to the front just to the side of her breast. My caresses were soft at first, testing her reaction. When I gleaned no resistance from her the caresses became more assertive, squeezing her behind and fully massaging her breast whose weight felt heavy and full. She broke the kiss to breathe but did nothing to stop what my hands were doing. In fact, her head fell back and she let out the most delicious moan. I kissed down the side of her neck while my hand slipped in through the side of her halter to squeeze her bare breast, and I was rewarded with another delicious moan. My mouth continued its downward descent until I reached the now exposed breast and took the nipple into my mouth. When I sucked on it Sookie hissed. I continued kissing, licking, flicking her rosy bud while my other hand reached under her hem and made an upward move to her panties. By the time I reached between her legs she was soaking wet. My fingers began to circle the bundle of nerves between her legs as I moved my mouth to the other breast and began to suck it in rhythm with my fingers' movements down below. I heard her breath catch before she seemed to stop breathing and a few moments later she made the most wonderful outcry as she burst on my fingers. I massaged the little nerve center more slowly while she came down from her orgasm. I was still squeezing her breast as I looked down into her closed eyes.

"Sookie," I whispered. She continued breathing hard. "Sookie," I tried again. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me with the most dreamy expression.

"Stupid rules," was all she said. "That was…"

"That was what?" I asked.

"Unexpected." I chuckled and placed my forehead on hers. "Kissing is so much better when you can't hear all the other person's thoughts."

I reached into the car and handed her the wrapped up food from the restaurant and her purse. "I would love to stand here kissing you for the rest of the night, but I'm afraid the sun will be up in just a little over an hour." And I placed my hand on the small of her back and escorted her to the front door. She fished a key out of her purse, but before she could put it in the lock I kissed her again. I then looked into her eyes and noticed little black smudges underneath them from her make-up. I wasn't going to tell her about them or that the hair on the left side of her head was falling out of her updo. I smiled, "until tonight, my Sookie."

She grinned and said, "Good night, my Eric."

That made me smile wider. It would be a smile I would wear all the way back to my home in Shreveport. And into my dayrest.

* * *

4:02 p.m.

Eyes pop open. Roll out of bed, stretch, swish the mouse, hit the remote, and start the day. And just maybe I was still smiling a little. I had decided not to shower before I went to bed because I wanted Sookie's scent to linger around me a little longer. It was bad enough that I had called Bruce, my day man, to pick up my corvette to have it washed and detailed so that her scent wouldn't be saturating it. I guess I could have driven the SUV to New Orleans, but I loved opening up the 'vette on the road, and I had so few opportunities to do so. I wanted us to go public, but I wanted Sophie Ann to find out on my terms.

Sunday afternoon television, a quick check on the headlines: the Taliban has declared a holy war on the supernatural world, a middle-aged movie star just adopted another baby from an African country, and Leonardo Di Caprio is dating a super-model… So… nothing new in the news.

Flipping through the on-screen cable guide… crap, crap, more … oh … _Warm Bodies_ with that funny zombie boy. I could really relate to his inner-monologue; I don't know why.

I thought about my date with Sookie. If last night was any indication, I was pretty sure that she was very, very passionate. I knew, in that way that any vampire would, that she was a virgin. With any luck, she wouldn't be for much longer. Fucking Sophie Ann… I knew that she had called me to New Orleans to give Andre free rein in my area. That meant that not only was he coming after Sookie and Jason, but also that he was _not_ planning to be subtle about it. Exactly what form this 'lack of finesse' would take, I didn't know. But I needed to make sure that Sookie, Jason, Adele, and Lafayette, as well as their guards, were prepared for the worst.

Nothing really interesting in my email, but I had a text from Pam; she wanted to know if I wanted her out at the Stackhouse home to help. Apparently my Sookie had made a favorable impression on her. I texted her back that she was not to go anywhere near their home unless I told her to. If she were present, it would just take one phone call from Andre to inform the queen. No one protecting the Stackhouses, including Thalia, could be tied back to me. I only hoped that all the protection I'd put in place would be enough.

Again, my thoughts drifted back to the end of the date. It was kind of funny, but I felt as if I now knew how a current day adolescent felt during our 'make-out session'. I don't ever remember questioning myself about what I was doing with my hands. Seriously? My hands? In my long life it was simple; I either fucked a woman or I didn't. There was never any musing over 'can I cop a feel now?' or 'what if she gets mad?' I shook my head because my Sookie was certainly a game-changer, but I just knew she was worth it. And I really looked forward to introducing her to _more._ More sex certainly, or sex at all for that matter, but also more wonders of the world like the ballet as well.

I wondered how familiar she was with magic of Shakespeare, for example. Would she understand the beauty of his language the way she seemed to immediately intuit the meaning of the moves in the dance? Would she appreciate his seemingly complete understanding of psychology almost three hundred years before that asshole Sigmund Freud was even born? Don't get me wrong, I think my penis is pretty damn important, at least to me, but to base an entire philosophical argument around its power or envy? Even I knew at the time he started spouting all that shit how absurd that was. Women don't secretly want to be men; they want the power and rights that men are naturally, culturally, by-the-fact-of-their-birth-given, and that they as women have to fight for. IT IS NOT THE SAME THING! That's one of the beauties of vampire culture. In many ways it doesn't matter if you are male or female. Your _age_ gives you power. That was why no one fucked with Thalia. The only reason I could command her was because she respected me. That, and she knew that I knew that no one else in America would let her in their area, not to mention all the bridges she'd burned in Europe. But other than living in my area, no one else knew of any connection between Thalia and me. We shared a mutual respect because I knew her history, respected it, and let her be who she was, as long as she didn't go on a bloody spree. Which she had never done in my territory. That made me wonder if maybe some of the mythos about her was grossly exaggerated. Ah, well…

But I digress, I thought. I suddenly wondered if Sookie ever had any desire to go to the Kentucky Derby or run with the bulls in Pamplona. Both events I noted with regret occurred in the daytime. No matter, I'd find more in this world to introduce her to. I could be very creative when I put my mind to it.

I looked up at the television. It was the scene where Julie's father shot **R** in that pool of water, and he was bleeding. He was human again! Poor zombie… I guess in this movie we are supposed to feel good that the zombies were turning back into humans, but as a vampire, I felt a moment's grief for the supernatural that was lost, even though there was really no such thing as a zombie. Although, I must admit that being a zombie would suck. Especially if you devolved into a 'boney', as they seemed to do in this movie. It occurred to me that I enjoyed this movie in the same way that most of the planet enjoyed vampire movies before the Great Reveal. Hunhh…

Since dark was quickly approaching, I decided to hop in the shower where I again fixated on my date with Sookie – specifically kissing her and hearing her breathing and moans and sighs as she orgasmed under my ministrations. It wasn't long, well I guess actually it _was_ technically long he-he-he, when I had to take myself in hand and find my own release. Once I was again clean, and sadly the scent of Sookie was well and truly removed from me, I hopped out of the shower and dried off. I dressed in my regular uniform of jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket. As soon as the sun was down, I was on my way to Bon Temps.

When I arrived at Sookie's house, I noticed several people standing around on the driveway, almost as if they were waiting for me. I got out of my car, nodded to them and walked up to the front door. I raised my hand to knock, but before I made contact with the door it swung open, and there was my personal sun, my Sookie. She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. "Hi," I said.

"Hi," she said back and for some reason blushed. She looked out past me to all the people congregated on her lawn, and then she smiled and said, "would you like to come in?"

I nodded, "May I invite the others in for introductions as well?"

"Absolutely," she said and stood back for others to enter. Jesus stepped up and entered followed by the Britlingens whose names I didn't know. Finally, Thalia came up onto the porch.

"Do you need a specific invitation?" I asked.

"No, Adele invited me in the first night I was here," she said as she passed in front of me into the house. Before I went into the house I saw the four Weres standing along the tree line. Tray nodded to me and I returned the gesture and entered the house. When I got to the living room I noticed Jason and Adele sitting in the two wing-backed chairs and Sookie and Lafayette seated on the sofa. The four bodyguards circled the room around them. I walked in and all eyes turned to me.

"Good evening Adele, Jason, Lafayette, Sookie," I nodded to each one of them. "As Sookie may have told you, the queen is upping the ante, so to speak. I believe that tomorrow her child Andre will arrive to try to capture Sookie and Jason. She has, coincidentally, summoned me to New Orleans for reasons she has not stated. I believe she wants me there to give Andre free-rein. In other words, he can get as down and dirty to obtain Jason and Sookie as he wants. Or so he thinks." I paused. "I have gotten the best bodyguards I could think of for each of you. Adele, I believe you've already met Thalia." She nodded at me. "Very good. Lafayette, I've asked Jesus to come and be your bodyguard. …I think you two may find you have much in common."

Jesus stepped forward and addressed Lafayette," It's a real pleasure to meet you," he smiled.

Lafayette suddenly became very coy. "The pleasure will be all mine, I'm sure." And Jesus gave him a smirk. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. That was not what I was thinking of when I thought they may have a lot in common. Whatever…

"And finally, let me introduce Jason and Sookie's guards." I nodded to the Britlingen's. They stepped forward together.

"I am Batanya. I will be guarding Jason," the first Britlingen stated.

The other one stepped forward, "I am Clovache, and I will be with Sookie."

I noticed a look of skepticism on Jason's face. "Jason, Sookie, Batanya and Clovache are Britlingens. They are supes who specialize in being bodyguards. Trust me, you couldn't be in better hands." Sookie nodded to me in acceptance.

Jason looked unconvinced. "No offense, Batanyer, but I just feel kind of weird having a woman guard me."

She shimmered golden slightly, pulled a sword, and asked, "You doubt my ability to protect you?"

Jason held his hands up in supplication before her. "No, Sookie told me about the Britlingens. It's not that. It's just…" and he let that statement hang there.

"It's just what?" Batanya asked.

"Well, it's just that I… " and he scratched the back of his head. "It's just that I like to see women from time to time… and we… well, don't make me say it, for Christ's sake, my Gran is sitting right there."

Batanya looked at him a moment in silence, and then she started laughing. "Yes, I was told of your sexual proclivities. That's why I was chosen for this job." Jason tilted his head. "I was chosen because I am quite immune to your masculine charms."

Jason didn't seem amused, "Yeah, well that's good to know and all, but what I'm talkin' about is… How am I supposed to go and meet a girl if I already have a girl hanging around me, not to mention what we might want to get up to if we was alone? Sorry, Gran, but I need to know."

Adele just shook her head, "Jason, I've known what you've been up to since you were in high school. I'd like to think that I've grown immuned to being embarrassed. That doesn't mean that I approve of everything, mind you!"

"Geez, Gran," Jason winced. Batanya looked at Clovache who nodded at her.

"Do not worry, Jason. Your female friends will never even see me."

"How is that possible?"

At that Batanya shimmered golden again and vanished. I didn't know they could do that, and I was impressed. Then the shimmering returned and she was standing on the opposite side of the room.

Adele was the first to react, "well, my stars."

"Well, all right then," Jason smiled.

Sookie looked at Clovache, "can you do that too?" Clovache simply nodded. "Cool," Sookie added, obviously also impressed.

I felt it was time to get going to New Orleans, even though I would much rather stay here with Sookie. "I must leave now, but please everyone, be on your guard. Compton was a bonehead; Andre is most assuredly not. Do whatever you need to do to stay safe and free." I looked around the room and every head nodded. "Sookie, would you join me for a minute? I'll leave the rest of you to get acquainted."

Sookie got up and came to me. "Could you show me to your bathroom, please?" She looked puzzled for a moment but led the way, then opened a door and gestured for me to enter and then came into the bathroom with me and shut the door. I placed my hands on either side of her face and kissed her. She started to reach up to embrace me but I backed away before she could. "No, I'm sorry, but I can't arrive in New Orleans with your scent on me. Sophie Ann would pick up on it immediately."

"Oh," was all she said and dropped her hands. She looked really disappointed so I again took her face in my hands and kissed her. When I let her up for air, I said, "Please know that I will be thinking of you every minute. Please be safe."

"I'll do my best," she sighed. "When will you be back?"

I backed away and went to the sink and turned on the water. "I don't know," I said as I grabbed the bar of soap and lathered up my hands and then proceeded to wash my face as well. "I'm hoping to be back on Tuesday, but it all depends on what Andre does and what he reports to Sophie Ann. She may find a way to keep me there indefinitely." I grabbed a fresh towel from the shelf and started drying my face and hands. After I was dried off, I folded the towel up as I leaned back against the sink. "Oh, by the way, I'm pretty sure Britlingens can pop like you can, so you shouldn't have any problem with your class on Wednesday. Also, make sure you introduce all six of the new Weres to your grandmother." I tried to think if there was anything else I needed to tell her, but I couldn't think of anything. "I guess I should go, but I'll miss you," I winked at her.

"Try to call me if you can… at least to let me know what's going on."

"I have a burn phone in my car just for that, so be sure to answer even if you don't recognize the number."

She smiled, "I will." We stood there in silence for a moment longer, and then she finally opened the door and walked out before me. I walked to the front door, which Sookie opened for me.

I turned to the others still in the living room, "Goodbye for now. Stay safe." And I walked out to my car. I turned around when I had opened my car door, and Sookie was standing against the post on her porch. I could see even from this distance that she had tears in her eyes, and that nearly broke my heart. And then I did the corniest thing I'd ever done in my life: I blew her a kiss. I was relieved when that made her laugh, so I got into my car and drove away. While I didn't have tears in my eyes, an overwhelming sadness swept over me as I put more distance between us. I sure as hell hoped that all would be well.

And so I was off to the lion's den…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – The Lion's Den

 **AN:** Sorry for the rather long author's note, but I must confess that I am working for the first time in my life without any kind of outline. I am letting this story take me wherever it takes me, and quite frankly it's a very freeing and creative way to write. Which isn't to say that I don't make extensive notes as ideas occur to me. However and surprisingly, this story took me to a very dark place for this chapter, and I am writing this **author's note** because I am very aware of how light-hearted this story has been up until now. So, be warned, this story has definitely taken a dark turn by arriving in QSA's court. I debated with myself for a long time about the dark content, but in the end, it just was right for the chapter and the contrast to life in Bon Temps. So… now on with the show… Hopefully, I was able to retain some of the fun and light-heartedness, however…

* * *

The sadness that started when I left Sookie stayed with me all the way to New Orleans. I tried to force it away by racing over one hundred miles per hour down Louisiana's highways. Four sets of flashing lights, sirens, and glamour jobs later, I decided to stay a little closer to the speed limit. As I turned into the outer part of New Orleans the sadness turned to dread. I was not looking forward to meeting the queen, and I was most definitely not looking forward to her decadent court. There was something about the sweetness and innocence of my Sookie that made me dread it even more than usual. I found that I quite enjoyed her goodness; it somehow made me want to be a better vampire. It made me want to be worthy of her. The gods knew how much I didn't want to be king, but I was starting to think that it just might be the only way to keep Sookie safe.

I had a few hours before sunrise, so I decided to call Godric. He would know what I should do. I pulled the burn phone from the glove compartment and dialed his number. When he answered I felt a little bit of the dread ease up. "Hello, Master."

"Min son. What is troubling you this evening?" Of course he knew. He had kept his end of our maker/child bond more or less closed off for a while, but I knew he would be checking in on it for my feelings from time to time.

"I have a… situation," I started. And then I explained all about the queen's plans and efforts, as well as what I had done to protect the Stackhouses, including information on their royal fae heritage and my plans for the media and the Authority.

"You've hired Britlingens?" he asked. "What aren't you telling me, Eric?"

"At first, I thought I might just want the Stackhouses for myself. Then I realized how connected they are in the human, business, supernatural, and social media worlds, and I knew I had to stave off a disaster if Sophie Ann did manage to get her hands on them."

"That still doesn't explain the expenditure to obtain Britlingen guards, min son. I know how much they cost. Hiring even one Britlingen would be a bit extreme just to protect the vampires of your area. But hiring two…?"

And I knew it was now time for full disclosure, and I wondered if he would be disappointed in me. He was the one who preached that emotions were a vampire's biggest enemy. How I hated to let him down. "Well, there is one more complication," I added.

"Yes, so I've surmised. And I've also surmised you are having trouble verbalizing it."

"Master," I hesitated. "It's Sookie Stackhouse. I've… I mean… that is to say… " And I didn't know quite how to finish the statement. Well I knew, but I wasn't sure I had the courage to finish it. I just sat in silence for a moment before Godric broke in.

"Min son, have you fallen in love, perhaps?" I let my silence linger a little longer.

"Yes."

And then there was silence on both ends of our conversation for quite a while. Then I heard some noise from Godric's end. At first I wasn't sure what it was because it wasn't a sound I'd heard from him in a very long time. Then I realized… he was laughing! "Are you laughing at me?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Eric. But all I have to say is… FINALLY!" And he continued laughing.

"Finally? What does that mean? You aren't disappointed in me?"

And he laughed some more, "Of course not, min son. Actually, I'm relieved… and proud." What?

"But you always taught me that we needed to deny our emotions."

He was beginning to sober some, "as it turns out, I was wrong about that. I realized that quite a while ago, but I decided to let you learn it on your own, as I had. This girl must be quite something to have taught you this. I look forward to meeting her."

And suddenly I felt as if a great weight had been lifted from my very soul, and the words almost gushed forth. "Oh Godric, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever beheld. Not only that, she's smart and funny and talented and kind and, and…" and I heard him start to chuckle again.

"Yes, there's no doubt about it; you are in love." And I found myself beginning to chuckle with him.

"So I am," I added. "Would you like to see a picture of her?" I added fairly enthusiastically.

"Sure. Are you going to send one to me?"

"No, but are you near your computer? You can look up the website for her business. Just type in theenchantedforest, all one word, and add dot com." I waited while he did that. "Then click on the tab marked 'about us'." I didn't have to wait long for his response.

"By the gods! She is a beauty," he responded. I couldn't help the huge smile that grew on my face. "I want to help you, min son. I will call your sister as well. I may find myself in your area in the next few days, if that is alright with you."

"Of course it's alright. I don't know how long the queen is going to keep me in New Orleans, and I would feel better if I knew there was an additional layer of safety for all of the Stackhouses."

"Consider it done. I will make all of the arrangements when we hang up. I look forward to meeting them all."

"Thank you, fader. I will rest easier if I know you are also there."

"I will see you soon, min son." And with that, he hung up.

I knew it would be really late to call Sookie, but I wanted her to know about Godric's arrival, especially since she's never met either him or Andre, and I didn't want her to confuse the two.

Her cell phone rang exactly five times when a very sleepy voice said, "Hello?"

"I'm sorry to call you so late, my Sookie, but I have some good news for you."

"Eric? Are you still up?"

I chuckled, "I'm in New Orleans, but I haven't made it to the palace yet. I still have a little time before sunrise."

"Oh… OK. What's the good news?"

"My maker, Godric, is on his way to my area. He wants to aid in your protection."

"Your maker? How will I know it's him and not Andre?" She was so smart to ask, even in her sleepy state.

"That's exactly why I'm calling you. Both Godric and Andre will appear very, very young, as in they were both teenagers when they were turned. But Andre has blonde hair, which he usually wears long, and Godric has dark hair, which he usually wears very short. If in doubt, simply ask their name as Godric won't hesitate to tell you his. My Sookie, Godric is one of the oldest vampires on this continent. He will take very good care of you."

"Uhmm… How old is he?"

"Let's just say that he was made vampire well before the birth of your Christ."

She was silent for a long, long moment. "Wow. It sounds like between the bodyguards and Godric we should be really well-protected. Thanks, Eric."

"I'm almost at the queen's palace, so I'll have to let you go," I paused. "I miss you already, my Sookie."

"And I miss you too, Eric." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Go back to sleep, and don't worry about a thing."

"Be safe and good night, my Eric," she added. Was it so wrong that I got what could only be called 'the warm fuzzies' when she called me 'my Eric'?

"Good night, my Sookie." And we hung up just as I arrived at the entry gate to the palace. I put the burn phone in my bag that held a change of clothes and looked in the rear-view mirror. OK Northman, it's showtime, I thought. I assumed a bored façade, pulled up to the guard box, and rolled down my window. The guard recognized me immediately.

"Sheriff Northman, the queen has been expecting you. Please drive on in and park."

Rather than respond, I simply rolled my window back up and did what as he instructed. When I got out of my car I took a good look around. Everything seemed normal. I made it to the front door where I was met by Rasul, one of the queen's retinue, and my personal spy in her court. He nodded to me.

"Sheriff Northman, the queen had been expecting you earlier this evening," he told me as a kind of warning. I just nodded to him, handed him my overnight bag, and followed as he led me to the ridiculous sunroom. At this hour, I would be surprised if anyone had any clothes on.

Rasul opened the door, and guess what, everyone inside was naked! Except for the Berts. Wybert and Sigebert were Saxon twin brothers, mountains of men, whom the queen had turned for her own personal bodyguards. They were standing guard behind Sophie Ann as she lounged, naked, on a chaise, while 'beloved pet Hadley' had her face buried between her legs. Her eyes were closed, and she was moaning loudly as Hadley continued to work on her. A quick look around the room revealed at least six other couples in various stages of fucking, while a half dozen naked donors stood at the edge of the pool waiting to be used. One of the other vampires got up from fucking a pale, now-unconscious girl, walked up behind the donors, and without warning rammed his still-erect cock into the ass of a young-looking male who cried out. The vampire in question then slapped the young man hard on his ass causing the man to whimper a little in pain, and said, "That's for crying out. Now, on your knees." The donor obeyed, and the vampire proceeded to grunt loudly as he rode him wildly and hard enough to cause the other donors standing there to scatter out of the way. I could see tears falling from the eyes of the donor. I'd spoken to the donor pool in the past and learned that these donors were here voluntarily, most of them hoping to gain enough favor to be turned someday, so I had to surmise that the tears were from pain rather than rape. At least I hoped I was right.

I'd always found this court to be dismal at best, but now I found it completely disgusting and more than a little depressing. But I stood there quietly and waited. As I waited my mind wandered to the possibility of Sookie and Jason being used like this. Of them being forced unwillingly to stand there naked in that donor line. And I thought I might actually be sick. It was in this moment and this frame of mind that Sophie Ann opened her eyes and noticed me standing there.

"Sheriff Northman," she panted between moans. Hadley backed away for a moment, "did I tell you to stop?" and Hadley once again buried her face between the queen's legs, and Sophie resumed her moaning. "I was, _oh yes oh yes_ , expecting you, _oooohhh_ h, earlier this, _right there yes right there_ , evening, _suck it suck it… suck… it_ ," she squeaked out as she proceeded to yell during her rather extended orgasm. Was she finally able to get off because she knew I was watching? She began petting Hadley on her head, which I guess was their signal that Hadley could rest. Hadley sat back and turned around on the floor and faced me. Sophie Ann did nothing to close her legs, wanting me to see her. Hadley also spread her legs to give me a view of herself as well. It took all one thousand plus years of my vampire experience to keep from rolling my eyes. Sophie Ann continued to pet Hadley's head as she repeated herself sans the orgasm, "I was expecting you earlier this evening."

I raised my eyebrows at her, "I don't know why. My instructions were to come to New Orleans tonight so that I would be available at first dark on Monday. Which I have done."

Sophie Ann clicked her tongue at me. "Nevertheless, I had hoped you would be here earlier," she leaned forward and put her chin on Hadley's shoulder while she reached down and started squeezing and fondling Hadley's breasts, "you've been such a good little pet Hadley, that I've decided to let you fuck Sheriff Northman while I watch." Hadley's eyes lit up and she looked up at me, and all I could think was 'not in this lifetime.'

"Your majesty is most generous, but I must respectfully decline." Hadley looked crestfallen, and I knew the queen didn't like being told no, so I was waiting for it… three, two, one…

"What?" she practically screeched as she stood up and stomped halfway to me. "You would turn down my gift to you? I won't have it. As your queen I command that you fuck Hadley NOW!" Was she tripping on something? Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to watch what would happen next.

I stood there in silence for a long, long time; Sophie Ann had never had the nerve to command me like this. Finally I spoke very, very quietly, "Has your majesty made the grievous mistake of presuming that I am her slave?" I didn't even try to hide the anger in my voice or on my face. I noticed the Berts moving ever so slightly in case I turned into a threat to their queen and maker. She stalled for a moment, and I raised a single eyebrow to her.

"Of course not," she backed down and fidgeted a little; was it strange that I couldn't help but to notice in this crazy moment that Sophie Ann was most assuredly not a natural red-head? "I just don't see why you never join in on our fun. You are my subject, after all."

I nodded to her, "I am your loyal subject and your sheriff, but your majesty would do well to remember that even my own maker never forced me to fuck on command," I paused and continued very, very slowly, "I, and I alone, decide who and when I fuck."

Sophie Ann stared at me for a moment before she added, "Duly noted." I guess that was as much of an apology as I was going to get.

"Now if your majesty will excuse me, I think I will retire for the evening." I waited until she nodded, and then I turned and left the room. Outside the door Rasul was waiting and escorted me to the visiting sheriff chambers. "Is Andre here?" I asked.

"No, he is away… on business," Rasul answered with a knowing look in his eyes. "He left earlier this evening."

"I see. Do you know when he is expected back?"

Rasul shook his head, "No, we were not told where he was going or how long he would be gone."

"Interesting," I added, as if this was news to me. "Did he go alone?"

"I believe he took a contingent of security personnel with him. Two vampires and two Weres for the daytime."

"I suppose that makes sense. Is there anything you can tell me about this meeting later tonight?"

"I don't know anything about it, but you were the only sheriff the queen called in, so I don't think it is about sheriff business." Nothing Rasul and I were discussing would be out of the ordinary for us to be talking about, in case anyone was listening in.

"Thank you, Rasul, good rest," I said.

"And to you, Sheriff." With that Rasul turned and retreated down the corridor, and I shut the chamber door and locked it. I reached into the hidden compartment in my bag where I kept the burn phone and texted Thalia the message 'twonight and twoday'. She would know I was talking about Andre's security detail, but if anyone else found this phone or this message they would not figure it out so easily, I hoped. Even though I already took a shower earlier this evening, I felt dirty after being in the trashy queen's sunroom. I took my bag into the en suite bathroom showered and emerged wearing a pair of lounge pants, turned down the bed, grabbed my regular phone and climbed in. I kept a few books on my phone for occasions just like this one – where I found myself with time to kill and no other way to amuse myself. I'm scrolling through the books: no, no, no, oh – I'd downloaded a Shakespeare book by Bill Bryson who was a very funny writer. I was looking for something light and fun to read to alleviate the darkness of my surroundings.

I tried to read, but my mind kept deconstructing the scene in the poolroom. In the past, Sophie Ann had usually been present when her nightly orgies began, but she usually had enough of a sense of decorum to move her own activities to her private chambers. But tonight, she was naked as the day she was born and fully participating in full view of anyone who wanted to watch. I had what I had always thought of as a healthy respect for the naked body so I have nothing against nudity as a rule, but I also understood there was a time and place for such things. And then she had the audacity to march around with her under-developed bosom flapping all the way – an image, by the way, I can never un-see, and then to screech at me for not wanting to participate. Were those the actions of a worthy monarch? I wasn't exactly a total stranger to the orgy concept, although it had been centuries since I had last partaken, but then I'd never been a vampire king. Nor had I witnessed such tawdry royal behavior or pathetic scenes in any other monarch's court. Was our queen becoming unhinged? Was she at all fit to rule? I had always known she was a greedy, selfish bitch, but the depth of her depravity, along with her scorn for basic decency and common sense were no longer things that I could simply overlook.

I rested my head back against the pillow and looked at the ceiling. Was the universe trying to tell me something? Was I being too hard-headed to listen? I had carved out a relatively trouble-free life for myself in northern Louisiana. Was that the most I should expect – trouble-free? I had forgotten what it was like to want more – to want happiness. As I had thought before, my Sookie was a game changer. Now I wanted so much more. I wanted to love her, protect her, teach her, share the world with her. I wanted the happiness that she unknowingly promised.

I found myself comparing Sookie to Sophie Ann. Sookie was a royal princess by birth, although whether she realized that or not, I didn't know. Sophie Ann, I knew, had been a prostitute before she became vampire. Granted that may not have been her choice, but that was what she was. There was a time when Sophie Ann had seemed worthy of her throne, had seemed to strive to be a good ruler. She had fought hard, as many vampires do, to rise above her human circumstances. Not every vampire had been born a prince, as I had. But she had changed over the years. She began to act entitled. On the other hand, Sookie, who actually was entitled by birth, was one of the most humble, kind, and deserving people I had ever met. Sophie Ann had become someone to pity and scorn. My Sookie was someone to admire. How did I ever presume to be worthy of her? I shook my head and thanked any gods who would listen for introducing her into my life. I would go to the ends of the earth to protect her from the degradations Sophie Ann wanted to introduce her to. And Jason, he was a great guy! I rather liked his forthrightness and honesty. It was with this thought that I slipped into my day rest.

* * *

3:58… Monday…

I opened my eyes. Rolled out of bed and stretched. Would have swished the mouse, would have grabbed the remote… if I had been at home. Woulda , coulda, shoulda… But, alas… Such was not my luck. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened in Bon Temps today. Also, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen there tonight. I wanted to call Sookie so badly. But did I dare? I had my burn phone, but was this suite bugged as I absolutely suspected it was? What the fuck, I was calling her. Even if this room was bugged, it would be hard to say definitively who I was calling, so I dialed my burn phone. At least they couldn't trace the call…

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, lover," I responded. Please, please let her pick up on the need for discretion.

"Hey, you," she answered, and I could hear the smile in her voice. My Sookie was so clever. "How are you?" she asked.

"Missing you so much."

"As I am you…"

"Anything interesting happen today?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," she answered. "We hired some terrific new workers. And they're going to be great additions to our team, I think." I loved it when I could hear the smile in her voice; it made me smile, in spite of myself.

"Really? That's good to hear."

"But wait there's more!"

"Do tell," I said as I was full-on grinning.

"That reporter came over this morning. She asked us all kinds of cool questions, and she had a photographer with her who took lots of pictures, and I think having all those new workers made us look like a pretty big deal," she gushed.

"Did she say when the story might run?"

"Tomorrow. So I guess it's good we have a bigger staff now, eh?" She softly laughed, "How are things going for you?"

"It's a bit strange," was the most I felt I could safely say.

"Are you OK?" she asked sounding worried.

"I'm fine, just had a bit of a scene when I got here last night, but don't worry about it. You need to focus on you tonight. Take every precaution, my lover."

"Now who's the worried one?"

"I am, I admit. I wish I could be there with you."

"Me too," she whispered.

"I'll try to call you later, if I can. For now, I'm saying goodbye."

"Goodbye."

"OH! Before I go," I added quickly.

"Yes?"

"What are you wearing?"

And there was the tinkling music of her laughter. "Goodbye, frat boy," and she was gone.

I was chuckling myself. I decided that a meal was in order before my first dark meeting with Sophie Ann, and since this part of the palace was light-tight, I could visit the donor pool. I quickly dressed and made my way there. When I walked in I saw the donors from the sun room last night, and they were a little less naked. A little. They all turned to me when I walked into their common room. I selected a slender brunette and fed. When I finished I noticed the young man I'd seen abused last night, and he looked very pale, and there were bruises all over his body. I walked over to him. "Why are you here?"

"To serve the vampires, sir," he answered.

And then I whispered, "why are you here?" I looked him right in the eyes.

He paused before he answered, "I've been asking myself that question all day."

"Did you find any answers?"

He shook his head. "I'm broke. I don't know what to do," he whispered.

I reached into my pocket and peeled three hundred dollars off of my money clip, and his eyes got wide. "If I gave you this money, would you be able to get away?" He nodded, and I handed him the money. "Go now, before first dark." He nodded again and started to walk away and then turned back to me.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because nobody deserves to be treated the way you were last night. Believe or not, we're not all monsters. Now, go."

A small smile appeared on his face, "thank you." And then he was out of the room. I looked around at the rest of the donors, and they all had uniform expressions of shock. By now it was almost sunset, so I turned and headed toward Sophie Ann's office.

I arrived at her office and the Berts were already on the clock guarding the outside. "Please tell the queen I am here at first dark as she requested."

The Berts nodded to each other, and the one on the right went inside the office. The left Bert resumed his guard stance while I just stood there with my hands clasped behind my back. And I stood there. After about five minutes I sat on the bench in the hall across from her office. I sat there so long I slipped into down time. The door finally opened, stirring me out of down time, I looked at my watch, and forty-five minutes had passed. First dark my foot. Office Bert said, "queen will see you now." I rose and entered the office. Sophie Ann was seated behind her desk wearing a navy blue suit with gold-tone buttons reading from a stack of papers in the center of her desk blotter. To my relief she actually looked every inch the professional business woman. I walked to the front of her desk and crossed my arms in front of me waiting for further instructions.

She finally looked up at me, "Sheriff Northman, do you know where Bill Compton is?"

"I haven't seen him since the night he arrived in my area. Is he missing?" I knew she wouldn't have called me here for him; she was just fishing for information.

She sat back in her chair and looked at me, weighing her answer. "I just haven't heard from him; we had scheduled for him to call me, but he's missed the call.

I reached and pulled my phone out of my pocket, "I'll make a few calls and have someone check on him at his house in Bon Temps." I started dialing, but I knew I wouldn't actually make that call.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. I'm sure there's a good reason why I haven't heard from him."

"It's no bother, I can have someone out there within an hour."

"I SAID NO, SHERIFF!" she yelled. I stopped dialing my phone and raised my eyebrow at her in question. She took a deep inhale and blew it out. "I mean, that isn't why I called you here; it was just something I was curious about." I put my phone back in my pocket and clasped by hands in front of me, waiting. And all I could think was, 'Gotcha'. "Now, as to the reason I did call you here… I am in negotiations for a marriage contract with Felipe de Castro of Nevada. Not only are you personally a great asset to Louisiana, but also your area is the most profitable." I nodded in proper appreciation of her compliment. "Having said that, I am reviewing the financial statements of the other areas of the state," she said as she reached back to the credenza behind her and brought forth a large three-ring binder. That sucker had to be almost five inches thick at the spine. I felt a sense of dread creeping up my spine.

She continued, "I want you to review these statements from the other areas," and she reached back for a second notebook, just as big as the first, "and I want you to compare them to this report of the records of all the vampires in each area along with the nature of each of their businesses. Find where they could improve their contributions to the state coffers, where each sheriff could make their areas more profitable, and most importantly, how we can report the current numbers in the most positive light possible in any marriage contract negotiations." In other words, she wanted me to do her job. That combined ten inches of paperwork was the exact reason I didn't want to be a king. Was she seriously asking me to do all the work of a monarch without the accompanying privilege or power? Well, fuck me. I turned around and walked to the door, looking at it. Then I turned around and faced the queen.

"Even though this is completely NOT in my job description, I will do this for you… under one condition."

She rose up out of her chair, placed her fists onto her desk and said, "One condition? You forget yourself, Sheriff. I'm not only your boss, but also your queen. This isn't a request."

"So… you are commanding me to what… do your job? Without even letting me give voice to my one and only condition?" Was it wrong that I loved giving my queen shit? Did she even have a clue how much her crown was currently being held aloft by a slender thread?

"Check yourself, Sheriff… your tone is bordering on insubordination. What is your condition?"

"I'll… _happily_ look over these financials, but I want to do it back in my area, where I have the best tech support, so that I may do the most thorough job possible… Your majesty."

"Absolutely not. I want these documents reviewed here. I don't want them to leave my palace."

I just stood there and looked at her. She just looked right back at me. "Make copies of them, then."

"No. I want them reviewed _here."_

"I'll need my accounting software in order to do the job."

"We have accounting software here. You can use that."

"No, I've developed my own program. I am unfamiliar with your program, so it would be useless to me." I knew she wanted me out of my area and why, but how much more did she want me to review these financials, I wondered. "Without my own software, those are just stacks of paper with nothing but mish-mash printed all over them. Which would make me useless to you." And again we were in a staring contest.

"You will have to do this with what we have here. And that's an end to this discussion." So she wanted me out of my area more.

"Then with most humble apologies, I'm afraid I can't do what you are asking," she started to interrupt, but before she could I held up my hand to stop her. "It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that I can't do it. I wouldn't even know how to begin."

She looked at me for a moment, weighing her options. "What if you had someone bring your computer down here?" Now she was starting to think strategically, good move Sophie Ann. But I still had cards to play.

"That would be a good idea, if only the program were on my laptop. However, it is linked to my laptop from my in-house server, a piece of equipment that can't be moved from one place to another." And the ball's back in your court QSA. Especially since I know that you know squat about computers.

After a very obvious debate with herself, she finally exclaimed, "Well this is just ridiculous. You will just have to do this with what we have here. I can't believe you won't."

"Not won't… _can't_. Believe it. I wouldn't even want to attempt it lest anything I try be riddled with mistakes. Potentially dangerous and even fatal mistakes. I care too much about your kingdom to do that to you." See QSA , what a loyal and caring subject I am.

"Well… you created this software of yours before, why don't you just re-create it here." Wow, she didn't want to give in. More importantly, she didn't want me to go home.

"Sophie Ann, the software I use was developed over a twenty-year period, in small increments over time. One discovery led to another, and so on. It would be absurd to speculate that I could count on the same sets of factors and scenarios to arise that led to each discovery," I paused. "Now… I'm beginning to wonder why you've asked for my help, but you are dead set against letting me give it to you in the only way that I can," I crossed my arms. "What is really going on?"

She tilted her head to the side, "I don't know what you are talking about. I just don't want this information out of the palace." I simply raised one eyebrow of incredulity at her. "If this information, as it is now, were to fall into the hands of one of Nevada's spies, who I know are all over my queendom, my negotiations would be shot," she shrugged.

"So… you don't trust me, your loyal sheriff, to keep this information safe?" and with this statement I raised both eyebrows. She tried to stare back, but eventually backed down and started pacing. "What aren't you telling me?" I wasn't completely sure what I would say if she actually confessed her attempts to kidnap Jason and Sookie, but I was pretty sure she wouldn't want me to know even now.

"Andre… Andre, he told me…" and she resumed pacing. Was she about to tell me what Andre was up to? "Andre was the one who said these financial reports shouldn't leave the palace." I didn't think so.

"Well then, if we have no further business, I will return to my area," I nodded to her and turned toward the door.

"Eric, wait." I turned to her. "I really do need help with these financials. Are you sure that using your… your… whatever it is will help?"

"Your majesty. I don't know that I can find a way to make all of the areas of Louisiana profitable, but I know that I can't help with anything at all without my business projection and accounting program to review the numbers and financial plans."

She paced, AGAIN, while contemplating my words. Finally she came to some conclusion, "Very well, I will have copies made of these books for you, and you may return to your area and this mysterious program of yours." I nodded to her. "But Sheriff, I will expect results. And I won't be able to get these copies to you until just before sunrise, so plan to return home tomorrow evening."

"Your majesty," I nodded and almost bowed to her. I turned and strode out of her office, to my room to grab my bag, and out of the palace to my car. Just because I couldn't leave until tomorrow night didn't mean I had to spend the night in the palace. As I drove out of the gates of the palace, all I could think was, 'and the Academy Award for Best Vampire Bullshit Artist goes to…"

 **AN: Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Instant Replay

As I drove away from the palace, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief just from being out of there. I was headed to my suite that I kept at the Hotel Monteleone in the Quarter. After dark there were only so many streets open to cars in the French Quarter, but the Monteleone, which was an historic New Orleans landmark on Royal Street, had special entrances. It cost over $180,000 a year to keep a suite there, but on nights like this, it was totally worth it. The suite I kept there would have cost almost nearly twice as much, but that I let them call me to rent the suite if they needed the room, especially during Mardi Gras. The hotel staff communicated with me at least four or five times a month asking for permission to rent my suite, and every time they did and I agreed, my annual rent was lowered. The last email I'd gotten from the Monteleone was on the same day that I'd gotten the email summons from Sophie Ann, so I'd had them hold my suite for me. I pulled into the private parking garage and headed to my suite. I checked the time: just a little after nine. The night was a toddler. What to do, what to do…

Before Sookie, I would have wandered around the French Quarter until I found a suitable fuck and feed. But that seemed so tawdry now. She was better than that, which meant I had to be better than that. Hmmm… It's not like I could just hang out at Pat O'Brien's listening to the cheesy dual piano players while nursing a Hurricane. In times past, the jazz greats like clarinetist Pete Fountain and trumpeter Al Hirt had their own clubs in the Quarter. But Pete, who just died in 2016 had long since closed his club, and Al had passed in 1999. I'd been lucky enough to see both jazz greats when they were young and in their prime. I guess I could head over to Preservation Hall and watch the old-timers play some Dixieland jazz. But first I wanted to find out what was going on in Bon Temps.

I got to my suite and tossed my bag on the bed after I removed the burn phone. I dialed Sookie, but it went to voice mail. I knew The Enchanted Forest was closed by now, so I wondered why she didn't answer. I paced around the suite trying to think of what I should do. I kept telling myself to keep calm; it was just one missed phone call, she could be showering or some other mundane thing. I picked up the phone again and dialed Thalia's number – voicemail. Now _that_ was unusual. What could keep her so busy that she couldn't answer her phone. I paced some more. Then I dialed Godric's number – AGAIN VOICEMAIL. I was about thirty seconds away from flying up there. If I drove it would take at least three hours or more. If I flew, it would only take a little over an hour. DAMNIT! So much could happen in an hour. Fucking Sophie Ann. It was a good thing I decided not to spend the night in the palace, or Sophie Ann's life would be forfeit. I swore by all the gods that if anything AT ALL happened to my Sookie or her family, I would punish anyone responsible… with extreme prejudice. I continued pacing trying to decide what to do, and I noticed my hands were shaking. My hands didn't shake unless… I needed to calm myself down right away because I knew that shaking hands were the first sign of an oncoming berserker rage. I didn't dare leave this room in this state. I tossed my phone onto the bed and started a tai chi routine in order to steady myself. I was half-way through my second time through the form when my burn phone rang. I answered it at vamp speed. "Speak," I barked.

"Sheriff?" Thalia asked.

"Why didn't you answer your phone earlier?"

"So it _was_ you who called. I would have answered, but I was a little busy at the time. We had an … incident," she said.

"I'm waiting," I answered swearing that if anyone was hurt…

"Everything is fine now," she quickly added, and I let out a breath I didn't even realize I had been holding.

"Tell me everything; leave nothing out," I ordered.

She snickered. "I didn't do anything. I didn't have to," she paused. "It was actually a little past closing time when Andre and two vampires with him showed up here pretty soon after first dark, so they must have sheltered at Compton's place. All six of the new hires and all four of the bodyguards were there. Jason and Sookie were showing some customers, a middle-aged couple, through the main green house when Andre tore the back door off of it. The six new Weres were scattered throughout the greenhouse, working on various projects, but they flanked the sides three and three. Andre, flanked by the two vampires, demanded to speak to Sookie and Jason… alone. What he didn't know was that while he was dramatically walking into the greenhouse, the four body guards had entered the rear entrance – you know the one he'd just torn off—and were standing behind him. Jason walked about half-way to him and said just as polite and innocent as you please, 'we're working with another customer right now, but we can help you as soon as we're done; take a look around and see if anything in here is to your liking,' and he started to walk back to the customers. By this time Batanya and Clovache had gone invisible. 'I'm afraid it can't wait,' says Andre in a growly but rather amusing girly voice," Thalia chuckled.

I waited for her to continue for a moment or ten before I asked, "and?"

She continued chuckling but continued, "Sheriff, as Adele would say, you just hold your horses," and she chuckled again, "I am telling this story, and I want to tell it my way, exactly as it happened. So… Jason turned back to Andre and said 'I'm afraid it'll have to.' I like that Jason, and I don't like many humans." I cleared my throat unnecessarily, and she went on, "anyway, Andre was getting madder and madder, so he signaled the two vampires with him to grab Jason and Sookie, and what do you know… they must have run into two invisible Britlingens who knocked them out cold. It looked so cool… and so weird. One moment they were charging after Jason and Sookie, and the next they were just out flat on the ground."

"What did Andre do then?"

Thalia began chuckling even more, "Well… at first he didn't do anything because he was so stunned." She continued chuckling but the chuckles turned into giggles which sounded so bizarre coming from her. "All six of the Weres were laughing their asses off. By then Lafayette had heard what was going on, and he came into the greenhouse and retrieved the customers to take them up front to the office. Jesus accompanied him there. So Sookie said to Andre, 'well you got us alone, so what the hell did you want?' Andre turned and looked at the Weres and me standing in the back. 'I'd hardly call this alone. Send them all away,' he ordered. Jason just laughed at him and said, 'you know I _was_ born at night… just not last night; they stay.' Then the Weres were really, really laughing, and maybe I was a little too. Andre got so mad that I thought at one point his head might explode," she continued her laughing. I couldn't help it; by now I had a smile on my face.

"Then what happened?"

"Then Andre kind of snapped and started snarling; I think he thought it would sound scary, but it just didn't. But it did sober us all up a little. The Weres all stood and lowered their heads, and some of their eyes started changing colors. A few of them let off a few growls and snarls of their own. I had no idea where the Britlingens were at this point, but I was pretty sure they had placed themselves wherever they thought their best defense points were. Then Andre started threatening, 'I will kill all of you and take them anyway, so get the fuck out of here while you still can,' he said to the Weres, then he turned to Sookie and Jason, 'you both belong to my queen, and you will come with me **NOW** ,' he shouted so loud that some of the panels in the greenhouse rattled. Sookie turned Jason and said, 'why do nasty vampires keep saying that _belong to the queen_ thing? I've got news for you, you little troll, I don't belong to anybody,' and then she turned to look at the camera the police department had placed against the ceiling over the door to the office, after one of Compton's failed visits, and asked, 'did you get that Sheriff Dearborne?' Then over a loud speaker next to the camera the human sheriff answered, 'sure did, Miss Sookie, that's enough that I don't even need a warrant to arrest him.' Andre looked really surprised, and if it was possible, even more angry. He then stupidly said, 'do you think I won't kill the police, too?' And Jason just shook his head and laughed, 'pretty sure threatening to kill police is a really, really serious offense, dude.' Andre just snarled and said, 'do I look worried to you, dude?' And then, and then… " and Thalia was laughing AGAIN!

I waited for her to stop laughing. And I waited. Finally when I couldn't take it another second, I all but shouted, "and then WHAT?"

As she calmed herself, she said, "I felt the presence of someone next to me as I stood by what used to be the back door of the greenhouse, but all Andre knew was that he was hearing a very calm, very soft voice from behind him that said, 'you would do well to be worried.' Andre spun around, and if his face could have blanched even whiter, I swear I think it would have. When he finally found his voice, he nodded his head almost into a bow and said respectfully, 'what are you doing here?' Apparently they didn't need an introduction. The vampire next to me lowered his head and just stared at him for a long time – until Andre started to fidget and squirm under the scrutiny. When he finally spoke, he said very softly, 'my activities are none of your concern, nor that of your queen.'

'You dare to defy your queen?' Andre demanded. The vampire next to me just smiled, 'she's not my queen.' Then the human sheriff came over the speaker, 'to the vampire that is threatening the Stackhouses… and the police, we have this greenhouse surrounded. We are armed with both silver and wooden bullets. We have silver nets draped and ready to fall at both entrances and other points around the structure; you will not escape. You will surrender yourself at once, or we will use deadly force. Son, I suggest you cooperate,' Thalia paused in her story. 'After about a minute or two, which seemed much longer to the humans, I'm sure, Jason smirked and asked, 'well, _son_ , what are you going to do?' That must have been the final straw for Andre because he snarled, 'teach you to respect your betters.' And Jason –did I mention that I really like him—said 'well you show me my betters and maybe I'll consider it.'

With that Andre launched himself at Jason. Before he could get the second foot off the ground, the vampire next to me moved so fast that he had Andre on the ground with his hand around his throat before Andre knew what happened. The vampire holding Andre then turned to me and said, 'tell the human sheriff that he can now safely apprehend this offal.' Since the police were already listening in they stormed the greenhouse, unfortunately destroying some of the plants along the way, and placed Andre and his two unconscious pals into silver and carried them off with Andre screaming curses and death threats all the way. Once they were gone, everybody let out a sigh of relief, the two Britlingens re-appeared right in front of each of their charges, and Sookie said, 'you must be Godric, pleased to meet you, and way to make an entrance!' And he smiled at her and said, 'indeed I am. It is also a pleasure to meet you Miss Stackhouse. And you must be Jason Stackhouse…' To which Jason nodded, and believe it or not, Godric extended his hand and said, 'it is also a pleasure to meet you.' AND THEY SHOOK HANDS! Jason said, 'my sister told me you might be coming, so it's great to meet you, too. And thanks for your help.'

And finally I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. Again. "So all ended well?" I asked.

"I'd say so. Sookie, Jason, Adele, and Lafayette are all well. As are the Weres, who didn't have to do much more than put in a day's labor and enjoy the show that followed." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "I have to thank you, Sheriff, for giving me this assignment. I haven't had this much fun this side of the renaissance."

I nodded my head even though she would not know it. "Very well. I am pleased. I will talk to you again soon." At that, I hung up.

Less than a few seconds later, my phone rang. I answered, "I am here."

My heart sang as I heard the music of my favorite person's laughter, "has anyone ever talked to you about proper phone etiquette?"

"My Sookie, I am so very glad to hear from you. I just got a play-by-play that would make the National Football League proud from Thalia of the evening's events."

Sookie laughed, "Well, she had a ring-side seat, so to speak. Even if she was somewhat in the endzone."

I felt my tone change, soften, "Are you really well?"

"I really, really am. Don't worry. The guards you hired did their jobs splendidly, and Godric is…" she paused, "Godric is _da bomb_ ," and she laughed. "He's standing right here, by the way, do you want to speak to him?"

"I love hearing the sound of your voice, but, yes, could you put him on the phone please?" She must have handed her phone to him.

"Hello, min son. All is well here. And with you as well?" he asked.

"I am well, fader. Thank you for being there for them, and apparently you've made quite the impression. It means so much to me. Did the camera in the greenhouse record what happened?"

"I do not know, let me ask," he said to Sookie, "Eric wants to know if the camera in the greenhouse recorded the incident."

I could hear the responses, first from Sookie, "I'm not sure…"

Then from Jason, "Lafayette," he shouted, "Do you know if the camera in the greenhouse recorded tonight?"

From further away I heard Lafayette's reply, "It sure as hell did; the sheriff wanted evidence if he should need it."

Godric returned to our conversation, "you heard that, I'm sure."

"Ask them to send it to my regular phone."

"I will, min son."

"Thank you, fader. For what you've risked and for being there and making sure they are safe when I cannot."

"Of course I would be here," he paused and then spoke a little louder, "it's not every day that your son, I believe the expression is, falls head over heels in love?!" I could hear giggling in the background. I couldn't help but wonder, why do all parents get a perverse pleasure in embarrassing their children? "God nacht, min son." And he must have handed the phone back to Sookie.

"He is so, so fun!" she said with no small measure of exuberance. Then there was a long pause, "really, Eric. I don't know what we would've done without your help. Your guards. I don't have the words…"

"Oh, my Sookie," I paused, "I find that I too am struggling to find the words. Just know that you are so very precious to me." And then there was a very long pause.

"Oh, Eric," and I could hear the tears in her voice followed by another long pause. She continued in a whisper, "what did I ever do to deserve you?" And then I heard her sniffles.

I chuckled, "Sookie, if you only knew the ways that I strive to worthy of _you_! I am constantly re-thinking my choices with a loud voice in my head saying over and over, what would Sookie think?" I waited a moment to continue, "you are so kind and smart and clever and open and, and …"

She chuckled, "I'm so _not_ all that and a slice of cheese…" I had no idea what that meant, but I waited for her to continue, "I just feel like I'm holding a really, really valuable lottery ticket. One I didn't buy, but one I sincerely want to cash in on."

I paused for a moment before responding, "A+ for sweet talk…" And she laughed some more. Just then my regular phone started to ring; I picked it up and looked at it – it was from the palace. "Hold on, Sookie, I think the queen is calling me on my other phone. I'm going to put it on speaker so you can hear, but make sure everyone on your end is very quiet." I answered, "Northman."

"Sheriff, this is Rasul, the queen wishes to speak with you, please hold on." I waited.

"Sheriff Northman, where are you?" Sophie Ann asked.

"In the Quarter, why?"

"Oh… When will you be back at the palace?"

What the hell? Now I had to report my every move to her? "Tomorrow evening to get the financials you are having copied for me."

"Tomorrow evening? Why aren't you staying here?! Who told you that you could leave?" she said with her voice rising.

"Because I have other matters to attend to, and I'd rather stay at my place here in the Quarter. I was dismissed until tomorrow _by you_ , and I was unaware of any new policy demanding I account for all of my activities _with you_ ," as I'd heard Adele say once, she was starting to get on my last nerve.

"Check. Your. Tone. Sheriff. Don't make me re-think your position in my queendom."

Really? Did she think she was threatening me? "Then I most humbly suggest you don't cause me to re-think my position either… your majesty." Two can play that game. That statement was followed by a long, long pause.

"Eric… I was just hoping that we could talk some more. But if you have other matters to handle, I understand." What a relief, she 'blinked' first. "Oh, by the way, have you heard anything from your area this evening?" Aha, now we are at the real reason for this call.

"Has something happened that I should know about?"

"No, no, no, just wondering. I will see you tomorrow night." She hung up. I tapped 'end' on the phone, and brought the burn phone back up to my ear.

"Hang on Eric; I'm going up to my room," she paused. "Ok, now we have a little privacy. So, that was the queen?" Sookie asked. "She doesn't sound like…. she's very competent. But maybe I'm letting my current situation with her force unfair judgments onto her."

"No, your assessment is pretty accurate. In fact, the vampire you met tonight is really the brains behind the throne." At that she burst out laughing.

"You're kidding me right?"

"Actually, I'm not."

"Oh my goodness, he seemed dumb as a post, which may be a huge insult to posts." she squeezed out between literal guffaws. I couldn't help smiling with her, but she also needed to be warned.

"Sookie, I'm so glad that things worked out tonight, but make no mistake, Andre is very, very dangerous. He is actually very smart, and now he's also very pissed off. If he should get free of this human incarceration, he will be coming back for you and Jason. His pride and reputation will demand it, even though to do so wouldn't be smart from a public relations or evidentiary point of view. And did you really call him a troll?"

"Sure did. So you think we are safe as long as he is in jail?"

I thought for a moment," Not necessarily. Sophie Ann could send someone else for you, and also, I don't know how much she has told the king of Nevada about you and Jason."

"The king of Nevada? Oh, yeah, from the video of Mr. Compton. Is that who she is trying to marry? I never understood why having us would be so important to her getting married."

"Because marriage between royals is very rarely about romance. It is almost always about business and shoring up power. And having a fairy telepath and a fairy empath would be very powerful negotiating tools for both business and power. Contract negotiations for marriages between monarchs have been known to last for decades before all terms are agreed upon so the marriage can actually take place. The standard length of marriage is one hundred years."

I heard her gasp. "As in a century? No wonder they negotiate their contracts so carefully." There was a small silence between us. "Do you think this king of Nevada knows about us already? Is that a threat, too?"

"Felipe de Castro is the king. In his human life, he was some kind of Spanish nobility. He's about seven or eight hundred years old, and he is very, very shrewd. Where Sophie Ann is incompetent, Felipe is the opposite. He helped turn Las Vegas into the goldmine that it is today. So, yes, Sookie, if he knows about you and Jason, I'm afraid he is very much a threat."

"Oh, Jeez," she sighed. "Eric, I've been wondering about something. On that video of Mr. Compton, the queen mentioned something about bonding us to her. What does that mean?" Gods, but she was smart.

"And I've been wondering when you would get around to asking me about that. A bond is formed after a vampire and a human mutually exchange blood three times. After the first exchange, the vampire can sense the human's feelings and locate them anywhere. The second exchange strengthens the first tie. After the third exchange the bond is both mutual and permanent."

"Mutual?"

"As in the human can then sense the feelings and location of the vampire as well. In the old days, some vampires would form a bond just to keep a blood slave on hand. It was particularly handy for insuring daytime protection. However, when the bond is made with love, it is a very different, and so I hear, wonderful thing."

"Kind of like a marriage?"

"Much, much more profound than a marriage. And there is no divorce since the bond is permanent."

She hesitated before asking, "so Sophie Ann wants the blood slave type of bond, I guess. Why?"

"When a vampire makes a new vampire, they have the obligation to teach the new vampire how to behave and survive in both the human and supernatural worlds. A vampire sire has absolute control over the young one until they are released, usually after fifty to a hundred years. At that time, the younger vampire can head out into the world on their own, and most do. However, if a vampire changes someone they are bonded to into a vampire, the vampire child can _never_ leave the sire. They would die if they tried. And if someone were to kill the sire, all of the bonded children would die as well."

"Oh God, oh God, oh God, you mean we'd be her slaves for all eternity?"

"That's her plan, yes. That way, even if someone else coveted you or your talents, they can't take you without her consent and unless they insure her safety. Your very existence would depend upon hers. And since she would be your sire, she would have absolute control over you. In addition, our laws are very specific and harsh when it comes to interfering with a bonded pair." I paused when I heard her gasp for the third time, "but Sookie, I'm not going to let that happen. Any of it."

"What about the laws?"

"Vampire law states that absolutely no one can interfere with a bonded pair. That relationship supercedes all titles or politics."

"What does that mean? Supercedes… I mean, I know what the word means, but what does it mean in this context?"

"It means that if you were to bond with another vampire, say… me for example, no one, whether they be a monarch or the Authority, would or could interfere with that. The bond is sacred."

"I see." She was quiet for a long time. A very long time.

"Sookie, are you still there?"

"Uhm, yeah. I was just thinking. Have you ever had a bond with anyone?"

"No, my Sookie. In my thousand years I never met anyone I would consider that kind of relationship with…," I paused, "until now." Another pause from her.

"I don't know what to say. I feel a little silly sitting here and focusing on what we might do on our second date now." I couldn't help it, maybe it was the pressure of the situation, but I started laughing. I've been talking basically about a forever connection, and she's mentally picking out her outfit for our second date. Eventually she joined in laughing with me.

"I know that I'll never find you boring, my Sookie."

"Let's see if you still say that after a thousand years," she giggled. What? "I mean… I was just… I don't know what I mean. Oh God, I'm so embarrassed."

"Please don't be embarrassed, my Sookie. I frankly find that idea surprisingly appealing."

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. When will you be back?"

"If all goes well, I should be back to my area tomorrow night. However, I don't know what's going to happen if Andre is able to get in touch with Sophie Ann between now and then."

"Are you in danger?" She sounded genuinely worried. I needed to reassure her.

I chuckled, "Actually, I couldn't be safer. I'm not even there, so how could I be at all responsible for what happened? Sophie Ann herself handed me the perfect alibi."

"But won't Andre tell the queen about Godric?" Again I was impressed with her observation skills and quick mind.

"That would be a problem, if anyone in the state of Louisiana outside of your family or Pamela knew that Godric was my maker, but fortunately for me they don't."

"But Andre seemed to recognize him immediately. I thought it was because of you."

"Ah," I responded. "No, that would be because of Godric. He is very famous among our kind. He's one of the most powerful vampires on the planet. I hope that Andre was suitably respectful since Godric is also one of the most feared vampires on the planet."

"Godric? He's one of the most feared vampires? But he seems so… so soft-spoken and nice."

"Oh, although I don't know how happy he would be with the adjective, he is actually very nice. He's also very, very powerful… and dangerous if he wants to be, or needs to be. He's soft-spoken because he doesn't need to yell and shout to command respect. And I guess he's had more than two millennia to achieve that level of calm and confidence."

"You might find this funny, but he and Gran seem to be getting on like a house on fire. I really like how nice he's being about answering her history questions." I loved her colloquial expressions; I only wish I knew what most of them meant. As up to date as I think I am on pop-culture and current slang, Sookie seems to throw me some pretty good curve balls.

"Believe me, he wouldn't be doing it if he didn't want to, so he must be enjoying her company as well. Which is easy for me to understand. Your grandmother seems to be the very definition of Southern charm."

"If you don't mind, I'm going to tell her you said that. It'll make her day!"

"I don't mind at all."

"Well, Eric, it's been another long day, and I haven't had a chance to shower or anything, so I'm going to let you go for now."

I looked at the clock by the bed, and it was after eleven. Where did the time go? "I understand. And take care, my Sookie. Don't let your guard down just because Andre was arrested."

"I won't. You take care, too, my Eric; I hope I see you soon."

"Sweet dreams."

"Oh Eric, before you go…"

"Yes?"

"What are you wearing?"

I burst out laughing. "Good night, my Sookie."

* * *

 **EXTREMELY LONG, rambling and just fyi fun Louisiana AN:** I don't know if you can tell by this chapter, but I am actually a Louisiana native, which is one of the things that originally drew me to True Blood. My father's parents lived in Shreveport, and my mother's parents lived in a small town just south of Alexandria (LeCompte, where I was born). I've personally lived all over the world, but my Cajun roots will always be precious to me. FYI, Cajun and Creole are actually two very different things; if you are really interested in the difference just let me know. My Grandpa, on Mom's side, was a true Cajun; he was born in LA – just north of Alexandria, but he didn't learn to speak English until he was in his 20's. I went to NO many, many times, but first when I was a child. But I really remember the clubs of Pete and Al, and I'm just old enough to have seen both of them in their prime, like Eric, even if I was underage. Oddly, as children my little sisters and I were most impressed with the cheesy NO Historical Wax Museum in the heart of the Quarter-don't know if it's still there since Katrina. However, when I was in college… I went to Pat O'Briens one night while visiting NO, where I had two Hurricanes, watched the dueling pianists, and had trouble walking back to our hotel, which I totally didn't realize _until_ I started trying to walk back to our hotel. All of the places I refer to in this chapter exist now, or existed in the past. You can even Google Hotel Monteleone (in all my trips to NO, I always wanted to stay there, but it was really, really expensive). BTW, most of the streets in the Quarter are closed to automobile traffic after dark so that they are purely pedestrian.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I was still chuckling a while after I'd hung up. And I still didn't know what to do with myself. I'd fed earlier at the donor pool at the palace, so I wasn't hungry. And going to listen to jazz just seemed like it would be more fun with Sookie with me. So I kicked off my shoes, picked up the remote control, turned on the bedroom television and plopped down to watch.

I flipped through the channels and landed on _The 13thWarrior_ on one of the basic cable channels. I rather liked this movie. It was probably the most true to reality Viking movie I'd ever seen – at least from the lifestyle perspective, even if it was told from the point of view of their captive 'Arab'. I really liked how the Arab learned the language the Vikings were speaking (which wasn't exactly Old Norse, but how many people watching this movie – besides me – would know that?) through total immersion. I'd learned a few languages that exact same way in my life. I'd had to. It's not like you can just show up in China and find someone who speaks your language to teach you theirs. Vampire perfect-recall is a true aid, especially in learning new languages. Nouns were always the easiest words to learn because you could always point and listen as they spoke. The hard part was either syntax or verbs. And yes, I knew what nouns and verbs were…

After a few minutes, there was a knock on my door. I cautiously walked over and looked out the peephole, since only one person in New Orleans knew about this suite, and there he was. I opened the door, and Rasul walked in. "Hello, Eric. I thought we could talk safely here. There is much you need to know. Oh, _The 13_ _th_ _Warrior_ , I love that movie. But of course I relate mostly to the Arab." I laughed at that; of course he did.

Rasul was originally from the Middle East. He had been turned around the time of the crusades by an Old Roman warrior who came to the region to capitalize on the spilled blood of the conflict. I first met him when he was about fifty years a vampire in Venice. He had a cruel maker who abused him in various and imaginative ways nightly. Godric and I were travelling through the Italian peninsula together and happened upon his maker's nest. They had invited us to stay for a few nights before we moved on to Pisa. For two nights I watched as his maker first humiliated, then physically abused him. I was about three hundred years a vampire at this point, so I had seen abusive makers before, but I had never seen one this cruel. I never failed to thank the gods of my human life AND my lucky stars that I had been blessed with such a good maker.

After the second night, it became clear to me that we would have to find a way to intervene. I could not in good conscience leave him to his sadistic maker and that cruel nest. I spoke to Godric about it in private, and he felt the same way. As sunrise was approaching I managed to separate Rasul from the rest of the nest as planned, and together we made it out of the building to a safe house I had found earlier in the evening. I sat him down and told him to wait. I don't know the exact details, but shortly after we arrived, Rasul fell to his knees in agony; I knew that Godric had managed to kill his maker. I became worried when Godric didn't arrive at the safe house before dawn, but I still felt him in our bond, so I knew he hadn't perished as well. I didn't get an answer to Godric's whereabouts until after sunset when he finally arrived at the house soaking wet and covered in mud. Since there was no real land in Venice, Godric had to take refuge from the sun under the earth at the bottom of one of the canals when he discovered he wouldn't make it to the safe house before sunrise. Godric's state didn't matter to Rasul, as he ran and embraced him. Godric told us we had to leave Venice immediately before the nestmates discovered the body, or rather vampire sludge where a body should be, and that Rasul was missing. We were out of the city within minutes.

We spent the next few nights in nearby Padua where we purchased new clothes to replace the rags that Rasul was wearing. After that we moved on to Pisa and then to Florence where the beginnings of the Renaissance were just taking root. We stayed there for a long time by vampire standards: almost eight years. Rasul stayed with us the entire time, and Godric took it upon himself to teach Rasul the proper way to be a vampire. We were both shocked when we discovered that at fifty years a vampire, Rasul had never been taught how to feed without killing. He went with us when we left Florence, and ended up travelling with us for the next fifty years. If there were anyone outside of my bloodline I trusted implicitly, it was Rasul. It was no accident that he moved to New Orleans just shortly after I accepted the position of Sheriff of Area Five. He had always been handsome, but now he had also become very polished and poised, and as one of the older vampires in the state, Rasul soon made it to Sophie Ann's court and had been there as my spy ever since.

"Brother," I greeted him warmly as we clasped forearms in the traditional greeting of old. "I was hoping we could talk further. How are you?"

"I am well. Well, I am unharmed. The palace has become something of a minefield lately."

I knew something was wrong. "What the hell has happened to Sophie Ann? Am I reading the situation correctly? Is she becoming more and more unhinged?"

"Oh, you have an accurate read. She was notified a few months ago of an IRS tax audit, which revealed she had severely underpaid her taxes for the last six years. In fact, she owed more than fifty million dollars. She managed to sneak most of the payment out of the state coffers, but she had to use her entire personal fortune as well. Basically, she's flat broke, as is her monarchy. I would expect a rise in her taxation of the areas next."

"She's asked me to go over the books of the other areas to see if I can find ways to make them more profitable. She told me that it was for the marriage negotiations with Nevada."

"Ah, yes… The marriage negotiations with Nevada. Another debacle," he paused. "She only wants to marry him so that he can financially bail her out, but she's trying to keep the fact that she needs financial help from him. However, she thinks she's found a solution up in your area. That's where Andre is now."

"Yes, I know. However, he's in jail right now," I smirked.

"WHAT?"

"He went after Hadley's cousins, Jason and Sookie Stackhouse. And got himself recorded on videotape threatening to kill their family and co-workers as well as the police," I paused. "And if that weren't bad enough, as a side note, the Stackhouses are the great-grandchildren of Niall Brigant."

Rasul gasped, "does Sophie Ann know any of this?"

"She neither knows nor cares, and she doesn't know that I know anything about her plans. I've spent the last week secretly trying to prevent a Louisiana vampire apocalypse. You might want to think seriously about your exit strategy from the palace."

"Are you contemplating leaving the state, Eric?"

"Not at this time. I've uhm… I've…"

"You've what?"

"After a thousand years, I've found love." His eyes widened. "With Sookie Stackhouse." At that confession he actually gasped again. "Godric's up there with her now to help keep her and her family safe. Remember, no one else in the state knows he's my maker. He helped the police capture Andre."

Rasul was silent for a long time, and then he started laughing. And laughing. And snort-laughing with a blood tear rolling down his cheek. Somehow amid all that laughter he managed to ask, "And how is _min steg far_?" [my step father]

"I had to leave for New Orleans before he arrived in my area, but I'm betting he's looking very… regal these days," I said as I raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?!" His eyes brightened with glee.

"I haven't actually had a chance to discuss it with him, but I'm hoping…"

"If Godric is to become the king, wouldn't my staying in the palace be helpful?"

"On one hand, yes. However, if The Authority steps in to _correct_ Sophie Ann' behavior in the near future – which I'm pretty sure they will be doing… Due to some incriminating video making it to the media, I'm afraid that no one in the palace would be safe," I stated. "As helpful as having you in the palace would be for a possible Godric takeover, I think it's more important for you to be safe. I know that Godric would want you to be safe… plus I haven't even had a chance to talk about the possibility with him."

Rasul just looked at me for a moment, and then he smiled. "Nothing is ever forgotten. I will always remember the kindness that you and Godric showed me all those years ago. I will always be indebted to you, and it is a debt I can never repay, but it is a debt I carry gladly. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"There may come a time when we will need you to take some action. For now, how much has Sophie Ann told Nevada about the Stackhouses?"

"I haven't been present for all of their meetings, but I don't think she's told him specific details, only that she has some very valuable assets in northern Louisiana, assets that she is calling into her court. I think she was holding out that information until the negotiations got more serious. But make no mistake, Eric, she already considers them hers."

"I know she does. But I have plans in place that I hope will prevent her from acting further on apprehending them. Part of the plan is that Sookie and I have gone public with our relationship. Photographers have taken pictures of us at the ballet, and she has appeared with me at Fangtasia. So it won't be long until word of our relationship reaches the queen. Theoretically I'm not even supposed to know who she is after in my area, so I have plausible deniability, as Sookie calls it. In addition, I have a partnership contract with them both dated almost three years ago as an investor in their plant business."

"So, they've been your assets for three years?"

"That's what the contract says…"

"But… ?"

"But nothing," I said just a little too innocently. Rasul's smile widened, and he shook his head. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he parroted back, also just a little too innocently. At that, we both started laughing. "So, the great Eric Northman is in love… I never thought I'd walk the earth long enough to see this happen," he chuckled. "She must really be something."

"Oh, by the gods, Rasul, she is indeed something. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever beheld. And she's smart; she finishes her master's degree in botany at the end of this semester and starts her doctoral studies next semester. And she's fun! I have laughed more in the last week than I have in the last century."

"And she's related to Hadley?" he asked with more than a little incredulity. I nodded, and we both began laughing again. When he calmed down some he asked, "So… you actually just met her in the past week?" I just raised my eyebrows at him, neither confirming nor denying. He started to chuckle again, "Wow… just wow…"

"I know, right? She's just taken over my life; she consumes all my thoughts… And I couldn't be happier about it," I said with a smile. At this moment, Rasul and I were just a couple of guys, long-time friends, and one of us was in love. And I could sense that my friend was genuinely happy for me as he smiled and nodded his head.

"Is there anything else I should know?"

I thought for a moment. "In addition to the video of Andre and his threats, I also have a video of Bill Compton and his crazy maker threatening the Stackhouses as well. Both videos announce to Sookie that she and her brother 'belong' to the queen. These videos are about to make it into the hands of the media on the heels of a full-page news article on The Enchanted Forest, the business owned by Jason and Sookie. I'm anticipating that this will go national. Also, the vampire hierarchy will be leaked to the press."

"You're going to leak information about the monarchies?"

I sighed. "Aren't you tired of paying your taxes twice? First to the human government, and then again to the vampire government. Just think of younger vampires who haven't had the time or chance to accumulate the kind of wealth that the older ones have. They are having trouble financially surviving, let alone getting ahead. If we are actually trying to assimilate into regular society, then let's, oh I don't know… actually assimilate!"

Rasul just looked aghast at me for a moment. "Holy goats in a bucket. The shit is truly about to hit the fan. No wonder you told me to prepare my exit strategy." He looked down at the floor as he was thinking, "I think for now, it would be better if I stayed at the palace…" I started to object, but he held up his hand, "hear me out. I can do some damage control for you when your relationship becomes public. You vouched for me when I applied for work at the palace, so Sophie Ann knows that you and I are acquaintances of old. I can say I knew all about your lover, but I didn't realize this girl was the one the queen was looking for, and neither did you," he paused. "But when you are sure The Authority is about to step forward after the release of the videos, you can call me. THEN, I'll make my exit. Don't you think that would be best?"

I thought his proposition over. "I think that would work. But Rasul, take every precaution. I have few enough friends in this world."

"As do I, my brother, as do I. I'll be getting back now, and get my things in order. Take care, Eric."

"You take care, also." Again we clasped forearms. He shook his head chuckling, turned, and left.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little myself. Life was about to become very different for the vampires of the good old U. S. of A. There was no denying that. I hoped. Best case scenario, the antiquated vampire system of monarchs in each state would be abolished, and vampires all across the country would join the American democracy and answer to the same legal systems as every other citizen. Then the AVL and The Authority could focus on real advocacy with the legislators, both on the state and federal levels. Worst case scenario, well what I hoped would be the worst, either Godric or I became the king of Louisiana. Preferably Godric.

He and I would have to have a good long talk about that fairly soon. Although I was pretty sure he felt the same way about being king as I did, he would really be the better choice. He was older, more respected, more feared, more patient, and most importantly, he didn't have a Sookie to woo. Funny how Sookie had so quickly become the beginning or end of every thought I had… sometimes both.

By now the movie had ended, and an infomercial selling something called the Ionic Breeze Air Purifier which apparently removes all kinds of allergens had come on. I had spent (or wasted, depending on your point of view) many, many hours watching various infomercials on late night television over the years; I had yet to actually purchase anything. My favorite and most entertaining thing about them was the 'sidekick'. Often it was a fairly attractive woman in business attire whose sole function was to express awe at the product in question. Sometimes it was a man who also served the function of attempting to inject some humor into the infomercial. I sighed, fuck allergens, if I thought for a second that this contraption could remove the stink of desperation from the vermin at Fangtasia, I would've bought the entire company.

I flipped the channel, another infomercial – Proactiv Solution Acne Treatment – flip. Guess what? Another infomercial - Shamwow! Reusable, washable, bleachable cleaning cloths! They didn't work for shit on blood. Pam had bought them; she threatened to end the man on the commercial. Flipped another channel – Bowflex – no, no, no, Christy Brinkley notwithstanding. Flip – Showtime Rotisserie Pro Electr – flip – Carleton Sheets Real Esta – flip. Oh for fuck's sake. I turned the television off. I spent the rest of the evening playing Tetris on my phone and let myself succumb to the sun right at dawn.

* * *

4:23 Tuesday

Eyes open, roll out of bed and stretch. I pulled up _The Shreveport Times_ app I had on my phone and found the article on The Enchanted Forest. I quickly read it and looked at the accompanying pictures; this was a major article that must have spread over two whole pages of the paper. This was even better than I had hoped. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face as I looked at a picture of Sookie in her work 'uniform' showing something or other with a plant. She looked gorgeous.

After I'd read the entire article at vampire speed, I decided to see if there was anything in the paper about Andre's arrest. A quick scan of the paper showed only a blurb on the last page of the metro section that said simply that a vampire had been arrested after showing erratic behavior and threatening to kill a handful of humans as well as local law enforcement. Criminal charges were pending, but the unnamed vampire had been remanded to the custody of the vampire section of the state psychiatric facility for evaluation. Sweet Valhalla, I didn't see that coming. And the comedy hits just keep on rolling. I was laughing out loud. Especially when I thought about it and realized that psychiatric detainees probably didn't even get a phone call. That had me laughing even harder.

When I finally calmed down, I decided to call Sookie to see if the article had made any difference in her business. Who was I kidding, I'd use any excuse just to talk to her. She answered in the second ring.

"Hey you," she said. I closed my eyes at the sound of her voice.

"Good afternoon, my Sookie. How are you today?"

"Crazy busy. We had to assign two of the new employees to the office today. There were so many phone calls and walk-in customers that Lafayette couldn't keep up with it all. If this keeps up, six new employees may not be enough!"

"You sound very happy, and I'm very happy to hear that."

"I am very happy. Business is great, and best of all I'm on the phone with my Eric!"

"A+ for sweet talk," I said and she giggled. "Where are you?"

"In my greenhouse, that is the night bloomer greenhouse. I came in here for privacy when I saw it was you calling. That made me very happy."

"But wait there's more…"

She giggled at me using her phrase. "Do tell…" she encouraged.

"According to the paper, Andre is now being held at the state psychiatric facility for evaluation. Likely he didn't even get to make a phone call." Sookie found this as funny as I had and was laughing gaily. "One more piece of good news, the paper didn't give Andre's name, so no one would know who he was unless they already knew the story."

"So there's no one who will let the queen know anything about this?"

"That's right. Hopefully, all I have to do when the sun sets is go to the palace, pick up some papers, and then head home. However, since she hasn't heard from Andre, the queen is likely to be slightly unhinged, and may find a reason to keep me longer. Keep your fingers crossed that she doesn't."

"So you might be home later tonight?" Her excitement was obvious.

"That's the plan. Why, have you missed me?"

"Sure have," she hesitated a moment, "Have you missed me?"

"Well… considering it's only been forty-three hours, six minutes, and forty-two, forty-three, forty-four seconds since I last saw you, yes, I sure have as well." She giggled musically. "It will take me three or four hours to drive back. By then it will be past your bedtime, I'm betting. I might be able to swing by your house before heading home. Would that be too late?"

"I was thinking about putting in some serious work on my thesis tonight. I'll probably be up late, so if you were to swing on by, I'll be up."

"Then I'll be swinging by. I'll let you get back to work now. I'm counting the minutes until I see you."

"Literally, apparently," she laughed. "See you later tonight, my Eric."

"Later tonight, my Sookie." We both paused a second before hanging up. I shook my head and chuckled. I was in so much trouble, and yet I couldn't be happier about it.

Happiness. That was a concept I had never spent a lot of time contemplating. Did I not think I deserved it? Or had I just never been truly happy? I thought back over my long life, and there were many occasions where I'd been amused or entertained or pleased or just had fun. But… I don't really think there had ever been a time that I'd been truly, honest to gods, deep in the soul _happy._ Until now. And now that I knew what it felt like, I was going to hang on to it with everything that I was.

Still about an hour to go to sunset. I checked the emails on my phone and dealt with the ones that needed my attention. Then I showered and dressed for the evening. It was finally time to go. I headed to the palace to pick up my homework, pulled in and parked. Rasul met me as I entered.

"Sheriff Northman, the queen would like to see you. Please follow me." He turned and led me down the hall to her office where the two Berts were already standing guard. Rasul nodded to me and left.

"The queen wanted to see me?"

The Bert on the right nodded and opened the door right away. Well, what do you know? I strode into the office, and Sophie Ann was pacing behind her desk. I stood there in silence for a moment before unnecessarily clearing my throat to get her attention.

"Yes, I know you are there," she snapped.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I was wondering… I mean have you… " She let that unasked question hang there. I knew what she wanted to ask me, but I couldn't let on. "Well fuck, Eric, have heard anything strange from your area?"

"I beg your pardon? I'm not sure I know what you mean." Spit it out Sophie Ann.

"Have you had any news from your area since you left to come here?"

"Well, yes, I have." She stopped her pacing, turned and froze to hear the news. "There are three vampires who want to move to the area, and I've set up interviews with them for tomorrow night. There are also a couple who want to open a new business; I'm seeing them tomorrow night as well. I also heard from Pam that she caught a possible drainer and has him in the basement for me to question." Ah me, a sheriff's work is never done. It took a lot of my control not to smile as I waited for her response.

She stood there in silence for a long time, as if I might suddenly add, 'oh yeah, and Andre is in the state psychiatric facility,' but I wouldn't. Finally she gasped, "IS THAT ALL?"

I forced myself to look confused, something I rarely actually was, and replied almost shyly, "Well… yes, your majesty. Why? Do you know of something else?"

I could see her strain as she settled herself. "Of course not. I was just wondering if you had heard anything that might be of interest to me."

"Your majesty, that's the second time you've asked me that. Is there something I should know?" Gods, I loved to make her fidget.

"If there is something I want you to know, I'll tell you. You may go." I turned to leave her office, but as I got to the door, she added, "and I'll expect results on the review of those financial statements. Quick results."

I turned and nodded to her, "Of course, your majesty. Good evening." And I walked out of her office. Rasul was there waiting for me with a box in his hands. I looked inside and realized these were the photocopies of the financials of Louisiana. "Thank you, Rasul, I'll take these."

He handed them over to me, "good luck, Sheriff." I swear there was a twinkle in his eyes. I nodded to him, left the palace, and got into my car to head home. Home… To Sookie… I couldn't get out of the palace fast enough. I had placed the financials in the trunk, and I may actually get them out of there at some point in the future, but I had a feeling that interesting things were going to start happening pretty fast. In fact, I would make sure they did. Tomorrow the two videos would leak to the media. The following day news of the vampire hierarchy would suddenly emerge on the heels of the videos. By Friday, The Authority would be stepping forward. At least these were my plans, but I realized that the time-table may be unrealistic. No telling what things could happen unexpectedly to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into my plans. I would need to have a long talk with Godric later tonight so that we could plan for these contingencies. If vampires retained their ruling structure, I wanted Godric to consider becoming king of Louisiana. That discussion would take more finesse and care.

I know that Godric had been, for lack of a better word, depressed for a while. Even though he had cut off the maker/child bond with me, subtle parts of it leaked through, either through the bond itself, or through his tone on our too infrequent phone calls. For the longest time I had been at a loss for what to do for him. But the voice I heard the other night when he was at Sookie's house, sounded completely different from anything I had heard in a long, long time. He seemed alert, invigorated… _interested._ And I could only think, who wouldn't be interested in my Sookie?

I continued to contemplate various strategies to entice Godric to accept the Louisiana monarchy as I sped through the highways of the state. Luck was with me so far, no cops trying to pull me over. I had just passed Alexandria, and my mind shifted to Sookie. By the gods, just the thought of her had me hard. I was meeting her at her house tonight, so I doubted that we would find the opportunity to have sex, but holy gods, when we finally did, I was pretty sure it would be the best sex of my life. In fact, I actually worried that I might just spontaneously combust in the process.

I tried to settle my mind because I was aware that I was probably setting myself up for a disappointment. How could sex with one person possibly be that good? But then the image of my Sookie appeared in my brain. And I remembered how she responded the night of out ballet date. And I knew, I just knew, there was no way she could ever be a disappointment, especially sexually. With that, I put my foot down on the accelerator to get to her as soon as I could.

* * *

 **Ridiculously long AN:** Review, review, review. I have almost 90 people following my story and 35 who have 'favorited' it. And yet I'm lucky if I get 8 reviews per chapter. What up?

Sorry this update took longer than usual. I've been travelling for my job, and I spent a week in Washington DC. I work for a non-profit medical research foundation that focuses on a specific disease, and in addition to funding research, we try to help people with this particular disorder in any way we can. I was in the capitol to advocate to several congresspeople and senators **to not** cut funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you are unfamiliar with the NIH, they are the federal agency that researches causes, cures, and treatments for diseases and disorders. They do amazing work, and if you would like that work to continue, please contact your congressperson and senators and let them know. All you have to do is drop them an email. Their email addresses are listed on the Internet. If not for yourself, do it for someone you know who is suffering from some disease or disorder. Now I'm stepping down off the soapbox.

Many of you were interested in **the difference between Cajun and Creole**. It's very simple. There were two ways that French people came to Louisiana. If they came directly from Europe (and in some cases they came from not only France, but also Spain) to Louisiana, they were Creoles. New Orleans was one of three major port cities since the seventeenth century (the others were Boston and New York), and most of those from France and Spain made port in New Orleans.

However, Cajuns - though French – did not come from Europe. They came from Canada. In the middle of the eighteenth century, there was a little conflict called in history class, The French and Indian War which was won by the British. The British in Canada, mostly Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, then kicked out all of the French settlers. Many of them made their way to New Orleans and re-settled in Acadiana (south-central Louisiana). They were called Acadians, and that name got bastardized to Cajun. In fact, Cajun French is a bastardization of the French language. Someone speaking fluent Cajun French, as my grandfather did, would probably not be understood by someone from France. A perfect example is the word Zydeco, which is a wonderful style of Louisiana music. The word zydeco comes from Cajun French "les haricots" which is pronounced "le zydeco" and means "snap beans". Notably taken from the phrase that says literally that 'the snap beans aren't spicy.' In other words, there's no spicy gossip, news, etc. Note: Wikipedia attributes the term to southwestern Louisiana Creole speakers. Although Creoles may have also contributed to Zydeco, this is yet another reason you shouldn't rely on Wikipedia for your research papers. If you are interested in exploring Zydeco music, I highly recommend a wonderful band called Beau Soleil.

Today, the two groups, Cajun and Creole, have more or less fused together. One way to think of the difference though is, Creoles were more cosmopolitan and settled in cities, whereas Cajuns were more rural and settled into insular communities the country.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – A Roberta Flack Moment

It was nearly eleven o'clock when I finally turned into Sookie's driveway on Hummingbird Lane. This was early evening for me, but I knew it was late evening for her. I kept reminding myself that she told me to swing by. I pulled up to the house and stopped the engine of my car. There were a lot of lights on inside the house; that was good. I got out of the car and walked around it at human speed. I had barely cleared the front when out of nowhere a Sookie-shaped torpedo leapt into my arms. Her legs were around my waist, and her arms were around my neck as she layed the mother of all kisses on me. My arms went around her waist, and my hand travelled up to the back of her head. I just held her as we kissed and kissed and kissed. Finally she came up for air.

"Well, hello to you, too," I smiled.

"I'm so glad to see you," she said, "and relieved." I raised my eyebrow at that statement. "I know you said that I shouldn't worry, but I couldn't help it. I was the one with all the protection. You were in the snake pit all by yourself."

That was so… sweet, and so like her. "As you can see, I am unharmed, except for missing you." She giggled. "How did you get out here so fast?" And there it was… a glorious blush.

"I popped when I saw your car from my window. I would have come down the stairs, but Gran would have told me to slow down… don't appear too anxious, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc." She tilted her head to the side, "plus I just couldn't wait."

I moved my arms more tightly to her, drawing her into my chest, and just hugged her. I hoped never to be parted from her again. I knew there would be inevitable separations in our future, but right now I was hoping against hope to avoid them.

Finally she unwrapped her legs from around me and slid to the ground and took my hand. "Come on, there's someone I'd like for you to meet." I followed her into the house, and we went into the living room. Sitting on the sofa, holding her grandmother's hand was a man who looked to be in his early to mid-thirties. He was extremely handsome, with waist-length blond hair and blue eyes that matched Sookie's and Jason's. Sookie looked at him and said, "I'd like for you to meet Eric Northman. Eric this is my grandfather, Fintan Brigant."

He stood and looked at me tilting his head to the side. I was beginning to see that head-tilt thing as a fairy attribute; I'd seen both Jason and Sookie do it numerous times. After a moment, he bowed his head to me and said, "Mr. Northman, I am indebted to you for the protection you have provided for my family. It is most appreciated." I nodded back as I remembered that full fairies don't say 'thank you' because those specific words would create a legal obligation, but I accepted his thanks anyway. He continued, "I would like to speak to you further… alone. Adele, Sookie, will you excuse us for a moment?" I looked over at Sookie and her eyes had gone really wide with her eyebrows raised. She looked at her grandmother and then her grandfather. "Mr. Northman, do you mind if we step outside?"

I felt a seizing in my chest. Was he going to tell me I couldn't see his granddaughter anymore? Had I made it through the travesty of Sophie Ann's court to face a fate I couldn't imagine? I walked with him out onto the yard. He faced away from me with his hands clasped behind his back as he began to speak, "as I said, I am grateful for securing the safety of my grandchildren. They are very precious to me."

"And Sookie is very precious to me," I added.

He turned to me, "Is she? How precious? What would you be willing to sacrifice for her welfare?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you are asking."

"Don't you? Sookie is a beautiful woman entering her prime. Do you really think that you, a vampire, can give her all that she needs in her life?" I started to speak, but he raised his hand to indicate that he wasn't finished. "The half-life of the vampire is the most that you can offer. It matters not if you have wealth, which I'm sure you do; I know how much Britlingens cost. But do you think Sookie only deserves that half-life from you? She is nourished by the sun, something you two can never share. Your very nature demands that your half-life is the most you can give her. Shouldn't she be with someone who can share his whole life with her? And I've yet to mention the idea of children. Children she will never have if she remains with you."

I felt my hands beginning to shake, and I knew what that meant. I forced myself to breathe in and breathe out, breathe in and breathe out, trying to calm the berserker rising in me. One thing I knew for sure, Sookie would never forgive me if I killed her grandfather. I let myself contemplate the fact that he and I looked the same age. It was a strangely distracting thought that calmed me somewhat. "Your highness," I started. "I am in love with your granddaughter. I am over a millennia in age, and I have never, _never_ loved like I love Sookie. You are right, I can't share the sun with her. But most human men cannot stay home all day to share the sun. They must leave home and go to a job in order to provide for their family. You are correct; I am very wealthy. Sookie would want for nothing with me, including pursuing her own dreams. But I can guarantee that she will feel worshipped and adored every day of her life with me. And as for children, you are right, I can't give her one from my body. But human science has advanced to the point that she could still have a child if she really wanted one. And I would love that child as if it _had_ come from my body." I thought for a moment before I continued, "If you are trying to get me to back away from her, I'm afraid you are going to be disappointed. I refuse to break both our hearts."

"And if I demanded it?" he asked

"I'm afraid I would have to… respectfully refuse," I answered with a nod.

I continued to stare into his face, and I'd swear I saw the corners of his mouth twitch. He finally spoke again, "So, it is your intention to mate with, marry my granddaughter?" I just looked at him for a moment before I spoke because I had not yet contemplated the actual end-game with Sookie, but I knew in my heart what the answer would be.

"Yes."

"Good," he smiled. "I'm glad we got that out of the way." What? Fairies were such fuckers. I narrowed my eyes, and he responded, "Oh, come on Mr. Northman… Eric. I had to do that. Think of this theoretical child that human science could give you and Sookie. What if it were a daughter? Wouldn't you want to know the intentions of young men seeking her company?"

I was silent for a moment before a smile broke on my face as well. Then I started chuckling, and he started chuckling, and before long we were both full-out laughing on the front lawn.

The front door opened, and Adele and Sookie walked out onto the porch. Adele asked, "everything alright out here?"

Fintan turned to her, "Yes, my love, all is well." I could see Sookie visibly relieved by that statement.

I turned to her grandfather, "Your highness…"

"Please, you may call me Fintan."

"All right, Fintan, with your permission, I am going to take Sookie for a walk," I said as I extended my hand to her. She walked quickly to me, took my hand, and looked at her grandfather who smiled and nodded.

"Good evening, Adele, it was good to see you again."

"Good to see you, too, Eric," she replied. She and Fintan went into the house.

Sookie and I started walking in the direction of the greenhouse. "Where do you want to walk to, Eric," Sookie asked.

"Show me your greenhouse, the ones with the night blooming flowers."

"OK," she smiled. She pulled me along the side of the main greenhouse and then behind it to her greenhouse. We entered, and the low blue lights were on. It gave everything an other-worldly feeling.

"Jason mentioned that you had a pond in here, but I didn't see it."

"Oh, it's over here," she replied and led me over to the side with the pond. "These are the Night Bloom Water Lilies… aren't they pretty?" She turned her smiling face up to me. I held both sides of her face as I kissed her. I continued to kiss her as I ran one hand through her hair to the back of her head.

She ran her hands down my back, and one hand made it to the hem of my t-shirt and up under it on the bare skin of my back. Gods she smelled so good. She'd obviously showered earlier in the evening. I reciprocated by running my hands down her back and under the hem of her shirt to her bare back. We continued kissing while I caressed her back until I broke the kiss and raised her shirt up over her uplifted arms. "May I assume we are no longer under the constraints of the first date rule?" She just nodded. "Good, very good." Then I kissed her again while I unfastened her bra and slid it off her arms. At the same time I shrugged my jacket off of my shoulders, and she lifted my t-shirt over my head.

I just looked at her for a moment. She became shy about my perusal and started to cover herself with her arms. Did she not know how lovely she was, especially in this beautiful blue light? "No, don't do that. You are not just beautiful. You are spectacular." I knelt down, and I was a little above eye-level with her breasts. I took one of them in my mouth and started to worship it with my tongue. As I suckled, her head fell back, and she sighed. As I was switching to the other breast, I couldn't help but whisper, "you have the most beautiful breasts I've ever seen." She gave a small chuckle at that, and I gave the other breast my undivided attention. As she started moaning, I placed one arm around her back and the other around her knees as I gently brought her to lay down on the ground.

I kissed my way back up to her mouth as my hands massaged her breasts as she made the most erotic and arousing moaning noises. By the gods I was hard for this woman. I continued to kiss her as I reached down to remove her… I believe they are called yoga pants, and managed to get her underwear along with them. Finally, my Sookie was naked before me. I braced myself on my right forearm as I looked down at her in all her glory. "Gods, Sookie, I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my long, long life. You rival any goddess." And then she graced me with a full-bodied blush, and I thought my eyes would roll back in my head. "Oh, Sookie, what you do to me…"

"You are over-dressed, Cowboy," the little minx said. She reached down and unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. I stood up and slowly pulled my pants down. I rarely wore underwear, so I just removed my socks with my jeans. I stood there to let my Sookie look at me. Her eyes started with my face and moved down my body. "You are so beautiful," she whispered. Her eyes got to my erection and widened. "My goodness, Eric. I don't know how that monster is supposed to fit!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, my Sookie, I promise you it will." I lay down beside her. "If you aren't ready, I can wait," oh, how it pained me to say that.

Apparently the pain showed on my face, because Sookie took pity on me and said, "No, Eric, I'm ready. No, that's not right. I'm aching to be with you. Please let me."

"Oh, Sookie, if you only knew the ache I have for you." I lay down beside her and kissed her while my hands resumed the exploration of her breasts. And just like that, the time for talk had ended. I kissed down her neck and again paid homage to her breasts. Then I kissed down across her stomach and down further. I settled myself between her legs and started suckling on the little bundle of nerves as I inserted my middle finger into her. Gods but she was tight. It had been a long time since I'd bedded a virgin. I thanked the gods of my human life that I would be the first, and if I had anything to say about it, _only_ with my Sookie.

I continued to lick and suck on her and inserted a second finger into her. I continued my assault on her bundle until she practically screamed with her release. My fingers continued their work as well. I knew I was a big man in every way, and I wanted this to be as pleasurable for her as possible. I did my best to prepare her, and then I kissed up her body and met her lips again. "This is it, my Sookie. Last chance to say no." She didn't say a word, but just looked at me and nodded. I placed my forehead against hers, listened to the sound of the water trickling in the lily pond, and pushed in. I had so not imagined this night leading to this. Especially after the encounter with her grandfather. But I pushed in and in and in, until I was as deeply seated inside as possible.

"Oh, God, Eric. That feels so good. And what do you know, you do fit!" she gasped. I closed my eyes at being so fully inside my Sookie. I had never felt such bliss. I wanted to reply to her comment, but I just couldn't; I was totally incapable of speech. I just let myself be there for the moment. And then I started to move. That seemed to surprise her. I just slid back and forth, and back and forth. She gasped and gasped again. "Oh, my, oh, oh, oh…" she panted. Her legs rose and encircled me. I continued moving with the back and forth, back and forth. In, but never pulling fully out.

"Oh, my Sookie, you must be descended from the Valkyrie, because I have never felt this good in my entire life!"

"Oh, my Eric,…[pant]… [pant]… [pant]… I'm not sure what that means… [pant]. But please don't stop moving!"

"Oh, I have no intention of stopping." I continued my in/out, in/out. "My Sookie, please, please, may I feed from you?" This need had become near to overwhelming.

"Oh, my Eric, I thought you'd never ask," and she turned her head to the side.

Before I could second guess myself, I slid my fangs into her neck and fed. This time my eyes truly did roll back in my head. I had never tasted such ambrosia. I took as many pulls as I dared, then licked the wounds clean, pierced my own tongue and healed them immediately. And I continued with the in and then the out. I reached between us to the bundle of nerves just above where I was inserted. Slowly, oh so slowly, I began rubbing there. Soon Sookie was gasping for air, and then there was the squealing noise of her coming. It was not long after I was shouting in Old Norse and coming myself. I pushed against her hard as I came, and then I just relaxed against her body, with myself still inside her. I let us be consumed by the silence that followed.

After a long, long while, I asked, "Are you OK, my Sookie?"

She answered, "Absolutely not, my Eric." I lifted my head to look at her. "OK doesn't even come close to how I am."

I smiled. "Then how are you, my lover?"

She answered in gasping breaths, "I am so beyond OK, fine, well, happy, satisfied, contented, pleased, etc., that I'm not sure what I am… but I'm pretty sure the word glorious would be appropriate. And you?"

"I am also very, very well, my Sookie." That was the understatement of the millennium. I was so far beyond OK, that I doubted NASA had a way of measuring my OK level. I thought about how crazy I was to worry that sex with Sookie might be disappointing. Nothing could be further from what I was feeling. I eased up a bit to rest my weight on my forearms, and looked at Sookie beneath me. Her skin was glistening in the blue light. I dipped my hand into the water of the pond beside us and let the droplets fall from my fingers onto her breasts.

She let out a little giggle, "that's cold!" I just smiled at her and repeated the action, this time letting the water droplets fall right onto her rosy nipples causing them to pucker even more than they already were.

"So beautiful," I whispered reverently. My mouth began to suckle anew on one breast while my hand massaged the other. Her moans indicated that she might be close to coming again just with my attentions to her breasts. As I was preparing to switch breasts, I asked, "are you mine as I am yours, my Sookie?"

She panted out her answer, "oh my Eric, I am so, so yours."

And with that I latched onto her other breast and started slowly sliding in and out again. Vampires have very fast recovery times, and I was as hard as I'd ever been in my life. I finally kissed her mouth again while my hand kept kneading her breast and I slid in and held myself there for a moment. "I love you, my Sookie." She gasped, and I slowly pulled back. Then I slowly slid back in deep and held myself there again, "I love you, my Sookie." After a moment, I slowly pulled back again. Slowly, so slowly, I slid back in and held. I looked at her face and she had tears falling down her cheeks.

"I love you, my Eric," she said in a breathy whisper. I held there for another moment then pulled back to repeat the motion of slowly sinking into her body. "I love you, my Eric." And I kissed her for all I was worth, while I held myself as fully pushed in as possible. I kissed her until I could sense that she needed air, and I rested my forehead against hers, as I slid my hand under her behind and lifted it slightly, changing the angle of my thrusts. I kept thrusting slowly in/out, in/out. Her breathing became erratic, and then she screamed again as I felt the evidence of her orgasm. I then sped up the thrusting and continued at that new angle. Before long I felt evidence of another orgasm shooting through her vaginal walls. And I sped up my thrusting again, not quite to vampire speed, but faster than a human could go, and it wasn't long until her inner walls were quivering yet again. Finally, I lowered her behind back to the ground and finished at vampire speed, while I was able to milk one more orgasm out of her before I thrust hard one last time with the longest ejaculation of my life. I collapsed on her, but tried to keep my weight as much off of her as I could. I had the strangest realization – I was trembling. All over. That had never happened to me before.

"Are you OK?" Sookie finally asked.

I chuckled, "that's supposed to be my line." I pulled my head up and held her face in both of my hands. "By the gods, I do love you, my Sookie. I hope you know that you'll never get rid of me now."

She beamed a magnificent smile up at me, "I should hope not."

"Are you OK?" I finally asked her.

"I think my body is made of jelly now. I don't know if I can walk," she giggled.

I looked down at the two of us on the ground in the greenhouse. "I think we're fairly dirty here. What should we do?"

"Not to worry, we can wash off in the back of the greenhouse." I slowly lifted off of her. She moaned in what sounded like disappointment when I finally slid all the way out of her. I took her hand and helped her stand up. Her legs were a bit wobbly, but she led me by the hand to a sink in the back that had a water hose in it. She turned on the water and lightly sprayed both of us down to get any dirt off. Then she reached into a small cupboard and pulled out a couple of towels. When we were relatively clean, I fetched our clothes at vampire speed and handed her hers.

"I wish we didn't have to get dressed; I love seeing your beautiful body."

She laughed, "I think my Gran might faint if I came back into the house naked." I laughed too as we both dressed.

"Surely she's in bed by now?" I asked.

"Not if my granddaddy is still here," she paused. "What did he want to talk to you about?"

"Just patriarchal, head of the family stuff. You know, what are your intentions with my granddaughter, etc."

"Oh God, that is so embarrassing."

"Actually, I think it was kind of great. And obviously, I passed muster…" I paused, "So, Adele and Fintan?"

"She was really pretty when she was younger. I think that my granddaddy still thinks she is pretty. Who knows? Maybe they were up to the same thing as we were…" she smiled slyly as me.

"Do you think so?" I asked.

"I try not to pry, but I just know that Gran usually has a smile for days after each of Granddaddy's visits," she waggled her eyebrows.

"Indeed, maybe they were," I smiled back at her. "Tomorrow is Wednesday. Do you have your class?"

"Actually I was going to skip it this week because of all the new customers. Why?"

"I've arranged for the two videos of threats on you and your brother to be released to the media tomorrow. I think it would be best if you stayed close to home."

"Wow, already? Things are moving fast," she responded.

"The sooner we deal with the queen, the sooner we can get on with our lives, Sookie. She's unhinged right now and floundering. If we wait, we give her the chance to plan and possibly come up with another strategy to get you," I looked at her. "I won't let that happen. No one is taking you away from me."

"Eric, I'm fine with it. I was just surprised, that's all."

"Now that I've found you, Sookie, I can't even conceive of a life without you. You mean that much to me," I confessed. "I love you."

She threw her arms around me, "I love you, too, Eric. I feel the same way about you."

I hugged her back and rested my head on hers. I closed my eyes and just absorbed the moment. "Well, Miss Stackhouse, I should get you back to your house. You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Yes, I do, Mr. Northman," she pulled back from our hug and gestured with her hand, "shall we?"

"We shall, Miss Stackhouse." That made her giggle. We held hands as I walked her back to her porch. I kissed her again at the bottom of the stairs. "Sleep well, my Sookie."

"Be safe, my Eric." And I kissed her again. "I guess I should go inside."

"Yes, I think you should," I said as I kissed her again. When we broke apart, she stepped up onto the bottom step and faced me.

"Now you don't have to bend so far down," she smiled as she kissed me again.

I smiled against her lips. "Much better," I added as I continued kissing her. "It's really, really getting late for you."

"Mmmhmm," she managed to get out as she kissed me. After a while the porch light came on. I backed away.

"I think that's my cue to leave," I smiled.

"I guess so. Not too subtle, is it?" she answered.

"I'll give you a call tomorrow, and see how everything is going." I reached up and gave her one more peck. "Good night, my Sookie."

"Good night, my Eric."

I looked back and she was still on the porch as I opened my car door. "Go inside so I know you are safe."

She nodded and went inside. I got into my car and pulled out of the driveway. I had one more stop to make in Bon Temps. I pulled up to the Renard Parish Sheriff's Office and got out. I walked inside, and a burly man was at the front desk.

He looked up at me and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can Officer…?" I asked.

"Detective. Detective Bellefleur. Now what can I do for you?"

I captured his eyes and began my glamour, "Detective Bellefleur, I am giving you a flash drive that has two attempted kidnappings of Jason and Sookie Stackhouse. You are not going to remember that I gave it to you. But tomorrow you are going to turn this evidence over to the NBC affiliate television station in Shreveport and explain that you thought the public should be aware of this kind of activity in our area. You can then tell them about the details of being called out to the Stackhouse property several nights to deal with what is on these videos. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," he droned. "The public needs to be made aware. I must get this to the TV station."

"Very good. Now, you should also let the TV newspeople know that there were good vampires who were helping you with this, so this doesn't mean that all vampires are bad. OK?"

"Shucks, no, not all vampires are bad. We had some good ones helping us with this matter."

"Very good. And Detective Bellefleur, remember you never saw me, and I didn't give you this, OK?"

"You were never even here…"

"Good night, Detective Bellefleur." I turned and walked out of the police station and headed to Shreveport. I got there really fast… about twenty minutes later. My luck with speeding was still holding out. I pulled up the back of Fangtasia which would be closing in a few minutes. I walked into my office to find Godric sitting behind my desk.

I knelt before him, "Master."

He rose and came to me and tapped my shoulder to stand up. We then embraced. "How are things, min son?" he asked.

"I am in the middle of the best night of my life," I smiled.

"Yes, my senses are telling me that you have just spent time with the lovely Miss Stackhouse, yes?"

"Yes, oh yes. Is she not everything I said that she was?"

"She is indeed, min son."

"Master, I'm erh, I'm…"

"You're what, min son?"

"I'm planning on bonding and pledging with her. I haven't discussed it with her, but that is what I want," I told him.

"Does she even want to be a vampire, Eric?"

"I don't know. We haven't discussed it."

"Eric, if you bond with her and she doesn't become a vampire, you will die when she does. Have you considered this?"

"Do you think I would want to continue on this earth if she were gone?"

"Eric, you have known her for less than a week." I started to object, but he continued, " I believe that you truly love her, I do. All I am saying is give this proper time and consideration. Would your Sookie want you to die for her? You are not a character in one of Mr. Shakespeare's plays. Do not needlessly create tragedy for yourself. Rather relish in the newfound bliss you've found in loving her… not to mention the high you are apparently enjoying right this moment from having bedded her." He smirked at me. Of course he knew; the little fucker would have opened up the bond tonight and felt what was going on with me.

I just laughed, and so did he. I shook my head. "I'm fairly certain about the bond, Godric. But I will, as ever, do as you advise and take time to consider it fully."

"That's all I ask, Eric," he paused. "So tell me, was she as wonderful as you'd hoped she'd be?" And just like that my fader became my broder.

I chuckled some more. "Oh Godric, she is a goddess. She is so much… afterward I was trembling with her. I've never had a woman bring me to trembling. I love her so much, Godric, I think I have trouble taking in air."

"When I met her, I could see immediately what drew you to her. She is a very singular woman," Godric stated.

"Indeed. How can I ever hope to be worthy of her? She is so good…"

"And you are one of the most honorable vampires on the planet."

"She is a royal princess…"

"And you were a royal prince, Eric. She is your equal, not your better…"

I looked at him in wonder for a moment, and then I smiled. He was right. She was my equal in every way, and I must always remember to treat her as a partner, and never, never as a pet. What did I ever do to deserve her? I felt like the luckiest vampire on earth.

"Godric, there is one thing we do need to discuss."

"Yes, min son, there is. What are we going to do about your wretched queen?"

 **AN: Thank you** , thank you, thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter. They are, after all, the only payment we get for writing. And see what you get in return? Another chapter in just a few days! I was so happy and motivated. Just FYI: every time I post a chapter, I haven't even begun the next one! I wish I had the time to thank each of you personally and properly, but I think you would rather have the updates come faster. I can't do both. So… thank you to all of you who reviewed the last chapter: as of 4/2/17 hummingbirdgrrl, Jadajuice, autumnchild25, princesspot5, BlondeAli, VampMad50, MsNorthman, jackie69, ciasteczko, The1WriterFormerlyKnownAs, ljhjelm49, Nicolle1977, Asami's clown, B-Rock25, Duckbutt, Perfecta999, LSinclair12, jfozz, , Louise, peachesgo, Reeka, and 2 Guests. And special thanks to Duckbutt for letting me know that Charlaine Harris based the character of Eric on Vladimir Kulich's Viking in _The 13_ _th_ _Warrior_. I had no idea!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Hits the Fan

What _were_ we going to do about my wretched queen? That was the question of the century. I looked at Godric and raised my eyebrows at him.

"No, absolutely not. I have no desire to be king," he answered.

"Godric, it has to be you. You have the respect of the entire vampire world."

"As do you, but I know that you don't want to be king any more than I do." Godric clasped his hands behind his back and walked across the room; he seemed to be contemplating something very intensely, hopefully becoming the king of Louisiana. Godric was the smartest vampire I knew; surely he'd see reason and become king. He turned back to face me and started to say something, but changed his mind and continued his pacing around my office.

"Maybe when all is said and done, The Authority will abolish the monarchies," I added without actually sounding like I believed it.

He snorted. "We should be so lucky." He paced some more, "no matter what, Sophie Ann must not retain her throne."

I nodded my head, "Agreed, but neither do we want Felipe de Castro to swoop in from Las Vegas."

"Gods no. So what are we to do… " he resumed his pacing. "How much does de Castro know of the Stackhouses?"

I shook my head, "Rasul seemed to think he didn't know any specific information about them. Sophie Ann had only told him that she was calling in some valuable assets from the northern part of the state. Although, when the media breaks with the videos of their attempted abductions, I'm pretty sure he will figure something out."

"We must make Sophie Ann the most hated woman on earth. This will assure her removal from office, but it will also force de Castro to reconsider any association with Louisiana, or the subjects of the video."

I nodded, "but what about Sophie Ann's replacement?"

His eyes twinkled as he smirked at me, "I think I might have a solution for that."

"What?" He shook his head and chuckled, "Who?" I asked.

By now Godric had a full smile on his face, "All in due time, min son, all in due time." The little fucker wasn't going to tell me. "So the attempted abduction videos hit the media tomorrow. Then what?"

"The next day I arrange for the video with Compton being ordered by the queen to kill Sookie's family to make it to the media. I'm having it professionally edited because Sophie Ann identifies Jason and Sookie as fairies in one part of the conversation."

"Perfect, that should make her appear even more reprehensible."

"As Sookie would say, but wait there's more!"

"I'm listening," Godric smiled and said as he sat on the sofa in my office.

"On Friday, two things are being leaked to the press. The first is news that Sophie Ann raided the treasury of her state to pay off her personal fifty million dollar IRS debt." Godric started chuckling at that. "Maybe we can leak that to Rachel Maddow over at CNN. She seems to specialize in revealing people's tax returns. And we also leak information of the vampire hierarchy so that her raiding the treasury will make more sense to the humans."

"Very good, Eric. When do you want The Authority to step in?"

"I think it would be good to let all this news germinate and grow over the weekend. So Monday, I think. Can you call you-know-who and arrange that?"

"I think I can do that. What about Rasul?" he asked.

"I told Rasul I would give him a heads up when The Authority is moving in so he can get the hell out of there. I originally told him to get out now, but he wanted to stay in place as long as possible so that he could help should Sophie Ann learn of my relationship with Sookie."

Godric just smiled and nodded, "Good strategy."

Just then my cell phone in my pocket started to ring. I took out my phone and saw who the caller was, "It's the queen," I told Godric.

"Let it go to voice mail." After a few more rings it did, and we waited in silence for the beep that would notify me of a message. And we waited, and then, just for kicks, we waited some more. Finally the phone beeped to indicate that I had a voice mail. I activated the voice mail and put it on speaker for Godric to hear.

"Sheriff Northman, you fucking piece of shit, "I raised my eyebrows and looked at Godric, and he smirked at me. "Call me back immediately. Do you think you can get away with this? Maybe I need to teach you who is the monarch in this queendom, and I promise you it will be a painful lesson you won't soon forget. I let you get away with a lot of things that border on insubordination, but this time you have gone too far. Maybe five years in silver with no blood will teach to respect your superiors. Call me now!" And then she paused, "Oh, and I do hope you enjoyed the ballet, you fucker." Apparently, Sookie and I had just gone truly public.

Godric and I just stared at each other, and then we couldn't hold it back any longer, and we started to laugh so hard we had blood tears rolling down our faces. Godric was the first to speak, "well, I guess the cat is out of the bag…" And that made us laugh even more hysterically. We both knew we were flirting with disaster, but this was just too funny. So, someone must have found the picture of Sookie and me at the ballet and showed it to Sophie Ann. I'd prepared for this, but I just didn't want to deal with Sophie Ann anymore. She had already become a non-factor to me.

A few moments later the phone on my desk started to ring. Godric and I just stared at it; there was no doubt as to who was on the other end of the line. I couldn't answer it now because I still had the chuckles in the aftermath of all that laughing. Finally it just stopped ringing. I assumed someone out in the bar must have answered it, and sure enough a few minutes later Pam came into the office to tell us that the queen was on line one. Godric and I just looked each other. Finally, Godric gestured for us to be silent, hit the speaker button on the phone and tapped the Line One button. "Hello?"

"Eric, you are in so much trouble, you little fucker, you."

"I'm sorry, Eric is not available right now." Gods I wanted to laugh.

"Who the hell is this?"

"This is Godric, and to whom am I speaking?" Pam and I were smiling from ear to ear.

There was a long pause before the queen answered, "Godric… the Gaul?" She practically whispered her question.

"Indeed. And you are?"

Another long pause, "this is Queen Sophie Ann. May I ask what you are doing in Louisiana?"

He paused and looked at us for a while. "I will allow the question," he replied. I almost choked. "I am visiting my very good friend Eric."

"Well, it seems Eric has an unusual assortment of friends lately."

"I beg your pardon?" Godric said as if he had been insulted.

This time she answered very quickly, "Oh, I didn't mean you were unusual… I mean… that is," then there was a long pause, "where is Eric?"

"I'm afraid he is attending to his duties as sheriff," he replied. "May I say how lucky you must feel to have secured the services of one such as Eric as your sheriff. I know that he could have gone to any kingdom in America and secured such a position. He must think very highly of you." By now Pamela had blood tears rolling down her cheeks from the effort of holding in her laughter.

"With all due respect, Godric, but your friend has betrayed me, and I am really pissed off about it."

"Betrayed you? That doesn't seem like Eric; I have known him for centuries, and I know personally how very honorable he is. How has he betrayed you?" Godric was the best.

"He has purloined my property!" she screeched. Pamela looked at me and mouthed the word 'purloined' and then the word 'really?'

"That is a grave accusation indeed, your majesty, and so unlike Eric," he paused, "what exactly has he stolen from you?"

"An asset of mine in his area."

"What is this asset?"

"A girl, she is mine, and he has taken her! And I'm afraid, Godric, friend or no friend, he is going to pay for it."

Godric paused for a second looking at us with a smirk on his face, "may I ask the name of this asset?"

"Stackhouse, why?" she asked.

" _Sookie_ Stackhouse?" Godric sounded properly shocked.

"Yes, why do you know of her?"

Godric started softly laughing, "indeed I do. I have spent time with her. She is Eric's beloved, and has been for quite some time. There must be some misunderstanding."

"What?" she practically screeched.

"Yes, because Eric has been business partners with her and her brother for, oh I guess a few years now. He has had a contract with them for their plant business since its inception." Godric paused, "which begs the question, your majesty, if Sookie Stackhouse is _your_ asset, how could you not know this?"

"W-H-A-T?" she positively did screech.

"When, exactly, did Miss Stackhouse become your asset, your majesty?" Godric added. All we could hear was a strange gurgling kind of noise on the other end and then the line appeared to go dead. "Hello?" Godric said. Then there was the dial tone. At that Pam and I lost it in laughter, and even Godric chuckled a bit. "Well, that appears to be handled for the moment."

"Pamela, Godric and I are leaving now. I'll see you tomorrow night." She nodded to me, and Godric and I walked out to the parking lot. I told him which house I was going to, and he hopped into his BMW and I hopped into my Corvette. We arrived at my house and talked and reminisced until dawn. As I fell into my day rest, I couldn't help but think that first I'd had unexpected and unbelievable sex with my Sookie, watched my maker put the infantile queen in her place, then spent the rest of the night in his company. This actually was the best night of my life.

* * *

3:48 p.m. Wednesday

Roll out of bed and stretch. Swish the mouse and grab the remote to turn the TV on, this time to CNN. I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed two bags of blood and popped them into the microwave when I heard:

"Sookie look at me. Good girl. You want to step outside right now. Be a good girl and step outside and come go with us. You want to meet the queen don't you? Won't that be so exciting?"

"You want me to step outside… meet the queen…"

"Yes, that's right. I want you to step outside and come go with us, and you'll live with the queen in her palace. Just like a princess. You want to go with us don't you?"

There was a long pause. "Are you flippin' kidding me? There is no way I'm stepping outside, and no way I'm going to live with your crazy-assed queen, sorry for the swear word, Gran. But thank you for trying to glamour me on my video recording. This should make some very good self-incrimination to hand over to the cops, who, by the way, are on their way, apparently for the second night in a row."

"You listen you [BLEEP] little [BLEEP], get your fat [BLEEP] out here or I'll [BLEEP] kill everyone you ever [BLEEP] knew. If you don't come with us now, the queen will just send someone else. Whether you know it or not, you stupid little [BLEEP], you belong to her."

"Awesome! But could you say that again, I didn't have your face in the shot when you began, and you might want to clean up your language, or else it'll just be over-bleeped when they play this on the evening news."

The camera then returned to the newscaster, "That is the second of two videos of terrorist vampires trying to kidnap the same innocent humans in Louisiana. CNN has not yet been able to determine who this mysterious 'queen' who claims ownership of these humans is, but she is obviously the head of this terrorist cell. It is important to note that the human law enforcement officer who turned these videos over to the media was quick to add that there were several good vampires who helped protect these humans from the terrorists. The FBI and Homeland Security want Americans to know that they are both taking these threats to U.S. citizens very, very seriously." Oh. My. Gods. The news media had dubbed Sophie Ann a terrorist! This was GREAT!

I flipped the channel to NBC, "the threats to U.S. human citizens by terrorist vampires on these videos are being taken very seriously by federal law enforcement authorities. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming."

I flipped the channel, and there was Andre snarling away, and he said, "I will kill all of you and take them anyway, so get the [BLEEP] out of here while you still can" then he looked at Sookie and Jason, "you both belong to my queen, and you will come with me **NOW."**

Sookie turned Jason and said, "why do nasty vampires keep saying that _belong to the queen_ thing? I've got news for you, you little troll, I don't belong to anybody."

Another newscaster came on to say, "Due to the shocking nature of the contents of these two videos, federal law enforcement officials have made this case their highest priority. There is genuine concern that there may be terrorist vampires in this country who see themselves as entitled to _own_ humans. At this time, ABC news is attempting to contact the human targets for their comments. We will keep you posted as this story develops. We will have updates on the evening news. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming."

BY THE GODS! This was even bigger than I had originally thought it would be. The FBI? Homeland Security? Holy fucking crap! I turned and saw Godric leaning against the doorjamb of my bedroom. "Did you see any of that?"

"Yes, I did. I'm glad that one of the stations pointed out the helpfulness of some vampires. Still, we may need to do some damage control," he said.

I nodded, "Just imagine the damage control we would have to do if the queen had managed to actually kidnap Jason and Sookie. Not to mention kill all of their family, workers, and the police."

"Have you talked to your Sookie yet? She may be able to do some damage control herself," Godric suggested.

That was a good idea. I was dying to talk to her anyway. "If you'll excuse me, I'll give her a call." Godric nodded and walked down the hall. I was pretty sure he would hear our conversation anyway, but at least he gave me the illusion of privacy. I dialed her number, and she picked up on the second ring.

"Eric?" she asked.

Good afternoon, my Sookie. Are you well?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. It's been totally crazy today. First, we have all of these new customers because of the article in yesterday's paper. I spent most of the day dealing with them. Then about a half hour ago, we had all these news vans pull up. They all want to talk to us about the attempted kidnappings by the queen. Jason and I are holding up in Gran's. What should we do?"

"Have you seen the news?" I asked.

"We've been watching it since we came in here a while ago. It's all playing out just like you said it would. Hey Jason, back away from the window. He's wanting to get back to business."

I could hear him talk to her, "what good is all these new customers, if we can't get out there to them?"

"Jason, Lafayette and the rest of them will handle them for now. Eric got us all that new help who can help the new customers. Just settle down," she said to him. "Eric, what should we do?"

"Sookie, how comfortable are you speaking in public?" I had to ask.

She chuckled, "Eric, I was in the Miss Louisiana pageant. I'm pretty damn good at it. Why?"

"I think you should invite the media to talk to you. You need to tell them that you don't know who this queen is or why she wants you, but that you know good vampires. In fact, I think you need to tell them that your… your… is boyfriend the right word?"

"Sure is," she smiled into the phone.

"Well, then, tell them that your boyfriend is a vampire. You can also tell them that your boyfriend sent some vampires to protect you. Make sure you let them know that there are 'good' vampires. Do you think you can do that?"

"Oh, I think I can be very convincing about the existence of good vampires, my Eric."

I chuckled, "good, very good, my Sookie. This is important because the media is calling the vampires trying to kidnap you and Jason terrorists. We don't want to give too much ammunition to the vampire-hating groups. Is that OK with you?"

"I can totally go along with all of that, Eric. But there are about ten news vans outside. Even if I wanted to talk to all of them, how do I go about it?"

I thought about it for a second. Then it came to me. "Sookie, you and Jason should walk out to in front of your main greenhouse/office – just to in front of your signage on the front. Stop and turn to the media and offer to talk to them. This will be additional publicity for your business. Make sure that Jason is on task for what we want to accomplish, OK?"

"OK," she said.

"The news media will likely want to put up microphone stands so large that it will look like a podium. Let them do their thing, and when it's all set up, tell your story, especially mentioning your boyfriend and the help of the good vampires. Do you think you can do that, my Sookie?"

"Yes, I'm sure we can. I'll fill Jason in so he knows his lines, too. I love you, Eric, stay tuned."

"I love you, too, my Sookie. I'll be watching," I told her. I hung up, and Godric returned to my room. I couldn't help but think that Sookie and I should be together right now. Especially after last night. I wanted her to always feel cherished. Ah, well, first things first. "Jason and Sookie are about to hold a press conference."

"This should be interesting," he said. There was a long pause before he added, "she really is lovely, min son. I am happy you have found her."

My eyes rolled of their own accord, not in mocking or in condescension. But just because Godric got it; he actually got it. She was so, so lovely. "Thank you, Godric, for appreciating the depth of my feelings for her. I never thought such feelings were possible before. She is my sun. The light to my darkness."

I turned the channel back to CNN. The newscaster was telling some story about the tumble of the stock market based on some report from the department of agriculture. Luckily, it didn't look like it affected any of my investments. In the middle of this report, there was an interruption which was directed to a main newscaster, "We are sorry to interrupt our regular programming, but we have more breaking news on the story of the terrorist vampires. We are about to go to northern Louisiana and hear from the alleged potential victims of the vampire terrorist attacks. We go now to Cecile Peveto, of _The Shreveport Times_ , on special assignment for CNN in Bon Temps, Louisiana, Cecile… "

The picture changed on the TV to Miss Peveto, whom we had met at the ballet, with the exterior of the office for The Enchanted Forest in her background. "Thank you , John. I'm standing here in front of The Enchanted Forest, a landscaping and plant nursery here in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Ironically, I was just here on Monday of this week, when I interviewed Jason and Sookie Stackhouse, owners of this business, for a feature article in _The Shreveport Times_ which ran on Tuesday. As you know, that article has now gone viral on the Internet, and has been picked up by several other news outlets around the country since the owners have been apparently targeted by vampires. The Stackhouses are siblings who started this successful business almost three years ago. We have been told that they will be making a statement in just a moment. As you can see behind me, several microphones have been set up in anticipation of this statement."

The newscaster asked a question, "Do these siblings know why they have been targeted by this vampire terrorist cell?"

"Not much is known about that right now, John, and we are hoping the statement from the Stackhouses will shed some light on that… Excuse me, but they are approaching the microphones." And the camera panned to Sookie and Jason stepping up to the mass of microphones set up right in front of the sign on their office. The sound of clicking cameras was heard in the background. Their sign was just above their heads. Perfect.

"Hello. My name is Sookie Stackhouse, and this is my brother Jason. We thought we would say a few words about what is going on, and then we might answer some questions for y'all. This all started a few days ago. First, we were told that a vampire named Bill Compton had moved in next door. Then he came around asking questions about us. I had not met him until the night he tried to glamour me to come out of my house, which I believe you all have shown by video on TV. And I guess when that didn't work, another vampire came into our greenhouse… in fact he tore the back door off of it… and demanded that Jason and I go with him, and he threatened to kill our employees and the police. Truth is, we have no idea why these vampires are so determined to kidnap us, but it seems that someone they keep referring to as 'the queen' has decided that for some reason we belong to her. We want to emphasize that there have been some… I guess you would call them _friendly_ vampires who have helped us with this problem. That's really all we know right now… Do you have any questions?"

"Miss Stackhouse, has this experience made you hate vampires?"

"Of course not. You can't judge an entire race by the actions of a few. That's the very definition of bigotry. There are good and bad vampires, just as there are good and bad humans."

"Miss Stackhouse…"

"Hey there, Miss Peveto, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." The crowd of reporters chuckled.

"Hello Miss Stackhouse. Is it true that you are in a relationship with Shreveport vampire and entrepreneur Eric Northman, owner of Fangtasia and The Bonne Chance Hotel and Casino?" I froze waiting for how Sookie would answer.

"Ah, Miss Peveto, you know I am… You took our picture at the ballet last week." The crowd of reporters chuckled again.

"So Mr. Northman is your…?"

"I guess you'd say he's my boyfriend." There were gasps in the crowd.

"Do you think that he's in any way involved in these attempted kidnappings of you and your brother?"

Jason stepped up to the microphone. "Eric and my sister care a great deal for each other. Not only is he a vampire with honor, but he's also my friend. I can guarantee you he has had nothing to do with all this mess. In fact, he's been out of town on business through most of this. But the second Sook called him, he sent those good vampires she mentioned to help us. And thank the Lord that he did, or Sookie and I woulda been kidnapped for sure. And just because all of this has become so, well, public, doesn't necessarily mean that we are out of the woods yet. The threat from this terrorist queen vampire, whoever the hell she is, is still out there. I won't breathe easy until she's behind silver bars for good." By gods, Jason was perfect.

Godric had a big smile on his face, "He's very good. Interestingly, I think Thalia is developing a thing for him."

I just looked at him, "No way…"

"Way… She really likes him, and she doesn't like anyone, as a rule. She thinks he has a 'good head on his shoulders' and also he's apparently 'hot', I believe was the phrase she used."

"Actually, she's mentioned more than once to me that she likes him, but I didn't take it seriously. Who'd have thought." That fairy allure certainly lived up to its reputation.

"Truthfully," Godric continued, "I kind of like him, too." I looked at him questioningly, raising my eyebrows. He quickly added, "Not in the same way, obviously."

"Obviously." I smirked at him. At that moment I wondered if Sophie Ann was up, if she knew what was going on. "Master, what do you recommend I do if Sophie Ann calls again. Just keep avoiding her calls?"

Godric seemed to ponder his answer longer than I thought he would. "I think that would be best. There's nothing that you could say that wouldn't enrage her. She is becoming more and more unhinged, and soon the human authorities as well as The Authority will be closing in on her. I think keeping your distance at this time is the best way to go."

Then another reporter asked a question, "Mr. and Miss Stackhouse, what do you hope is the ultimate outcome of this whole situation?" Both Godric and I resumed watching the broadcast.

Sookie stepped back up to the microphone, "I guess I would like to know that Jason and I are safe. Beyond that, I hope that the 'bad guys'," she said with air quotes, "get put away. But mostly, I hope that people will learn the difference between good guys and bad guys, whether they are vampires, humans, or anything else that might be out there. And if there are vampires or humans out there who feel entitled, or otherwise above the law, I hope they learn that they are most definitely not. Vampires want equal rights, and quite frankly I'm totally in favor of the Vampire Rights Amendment. Even and actually especially now. However, if a human were to kidnap me and Jason and hold us against our will and get caught, they would be punished by the justice system. That's the other side of equal rights, and so I think these terrorist vampires threatening us now should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Thank you."

Just then Cecile Peveto came back into the camera shot. "And that was Sookie Stackhouse, one of the intended targets of the terrorist vampire attacks. Miss Stackhouse, aged 24, is co-owner of The Enchanted Forest, a plant nursery and landscaping business located here in Bon Temps, Louisiana, and as you heard earlier in the press conference, the girlfriend of entrepreneur vampire Eric Northman. It should be noted that Miss Stackhouse was a finalist in the Miss Louisiana pageant three years ago, and she is scheduled to finish her Masters degree in botany at Texas A & M this semester, and she is already enrolled in their doctoral program. Her brother Jason, aged 27, the other target of these attempted terrorist kidnappings is her business partner and a former high school All-State football quarterback here in Louisiana. Back to you, John."

"Thank you, Cecile. Well that was the spontaneous press conference from Jason and Sookie Stackhouse of Bon Temps, Louisiana, the intended victims of the alleged kidnapping attempts of terrorist vampires in the state of Louisiana. We will keep you updated as events unfold in this most disturbing and unusual story. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming."

I dialed Sookie's phone. She answered right away, "Hey you…"

"Hey you. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. That really wasn't so bad."

"You did really, really well. I think all of America is in love with you." I smiled waiting for her response.

"A+ for sweet talk. I only care about one guy in America, though." She giggled.

"Oh, my Sookie, are you really OK after last night?" I was worried that we had quite an enthusiastic sexual encounter last night.

She sighed, "To tell the truth, I was a little sore today. But it was a good kind of sore in light of our activities last night." She paused, "otherwise I'm fine and dandy. How are you with all this crazy stuff going on?"

"Oh, my Sookie, I'm mighty fine, thank you so much." We both giggled. There was a long silence that followed.

"Well, Eric, I think it's time we talked about what we are going to do on our second date…"

 **AN: Review,** review, review… it's the only payment I get!

Thanks to all who reviewed as of 4/5/17: Princesspot5, hummingbirdgrrl, Asami's clown, autumnchild25, jadajuice, pnwer, ljhjelm49, Nicolle1977, VampMad50, MsNorthman, jackie69, Perfecta999, Duckbutt, , ciasteczko.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'

Gods but I wanted to go and see Sookie, but I hadn't really put in any time at Fangtasia since last week, so I really needed to go in. I had told her that I had some ideas about our second date, that I would check on the details, and call her tomorrow. After assuring that she was fine, I hung up and continued to watch the news.

I flipped to Fox News. They had a large graphic leading their coverage that said "TERROR IN LOUISIANA" with little fangs dangling off of some of the letters, accompanied by dramatic music with a pounding drum beat and harmonized brass. I had to chuckle a little at their love for drama. In some ways their coverage was my favorite. For one thing, they edited very little of the brutality and language out of the videos. They focused heavily on the dastardly words/threats of Lorena and Andre, and analyzed them at length. Then they went to even greater lengths of speculation on the identity of the 'queen'. They even had an in-house, retired FBI profiler who drew up personality descriptions of all the 'bad guys' and especially the mystery queen. For her, he used words like depraved, narcissistic, and sociopathic. I couldn't have written the script for that better myself. Even Godric enjoyed the colorful adjectives.

Before long, the sun had set and Godric and I headed off to Fangtasia. I had worried that attendance would be down due to the terrorist vampires reported on every station, but the line to get in was longer than I had ever seen it. When we pulled up to the front parking lot, there were several news vans in front of the club. I drove around to the back of the club to avoid them, and there were just as many news vans in the back. I pulled into my parking space and looked over to Godric and said simply, "Showtime." He just grinned at me.

As soon as I opened my car door the cameras started flashing like strobe lights. Soon afterward reporters started shouting questions at me. I couldn't help but blink my eyes at the flashing lights. I held up a hand in front of my eyes to shield them, then brought up my other hand to signal for quiet. The reporters then seemed to mysteriously organize.

"Mr. Northman, are you in a relationship with Sookie Stackhouse?"

"Yes, I am."

"Mr. Northman, are you involved in any of the attempts to kidnap Miss Stackhouse and her brother?"

"No, I'm not." I looked over and found Godric standing by the back door of the club, watching.

"What do you know about these terroristic vampire attacks on the Stackhouses?"

"I've been out of town until late last night. But a few nights ago, Sookie called me and told me that there were vampires threatening her and her family and friends. I immediately called upon trustworthy vampire friends of mine to come to her aid and protect her when I could not. I spoke to her earlier this evening, and she seems to be doing OK. I hope to get to see her later, and make sure for myself. Other than that, I've been watching all of the news broadcasts today, just like the rest of the country."

"Mr. Northman, do you know who is behind these attacks?"

"I have my suspicions, but at this point it would just be speculation. I would prefer to wait until the law enforcement officials come up with concrete evidence before I name any names."

"Mr. Northman, are you in love with Sookie Stackhouse?" All of the reporters and cameras went completely silent, waiting for my answer.

I just looked at that reporter for a minute thinking that this would be a big deal to admit in public not only to the human world, but also to the supernatural world, and then a smile spread on my face and when it did, the number of flashes from the cameras increased dramatically, "Why, yes I am. Very much so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get inside." I hoped that Sookie would see that. I could imagine the smile that would light up her face with that very public admission of my devotion. I just hoped that information wouldn't come back to haunt me if it made her an even bigger target in the future.

I also wondered if Sophie Ann would see that. Surely someone in her retinue was showing her the coverage by now. I tried not to laugh in front of the reporters as I imagined her horror at what was unfolding. After today, the finances of the other areas of her state would be the least of her problems. I had a feeling that box in the trunk of my car would never see the light of day… but then neither would I, I mused to myself. And amused myself. I was smiling by the time I reached Godric next to the back door, and we entered into the club. We went straight to my office.

I booted up my computer, and I had a message that the last video, the one where the queen orders Compton to kill all of Sookie's family and friends was finished with the editing process. I gave the order for it to be released through the channels we'd already arranged. Maybe things moved up on the time line a little; I was fine with that.

Then there was a knock at the door. "Enter," I said. The door swung open and Pam walked in followed by two men in suits.

"Eric, these men want to ask you some questions," Pam informed me. I nodded and she left the room. Godric was seated on the sofa. The two men walked in, looked around, and took the two chairs in front of my desk.

The one in the gray suit spoke first, "Mr. Northman, I am Paul Langford of the FBI," he introduced himself and showed me his identification. "And this is Tom Pettigrew of Homeland Security," he indicated the man in the navy blue suit who also produced his credentials. I nodded so he continued, "Obviously you are aware of what is happening in Bon Temps with Sookie and Jason Stackhouse…" I nodded again. "Mr. Northman, do you know who is behind these attacks on them?"

"I'll tell you what I told the reporters outside, I have my suspicions, but until someone comes up with concrete evidence, it would improper for me to simply speculate."

"I'm afraid that's not good enough, Mr. Northman. If you suspect someone, you need to let us know. Now. Who is behind these attacks?" the Homeland Security agent insisted.

This was a huge dilemma. I'd sworn fealty to Sophie Ann, so if I told these government agents about her, that could be construed as treason, even if it were true. Which it was. I searched my mind for a non-treasonous way to answer the question, but before I could speak, Godric stood up.

"Gentlemen, Eric cannot answer your question for various reasons, but I can," Godric offered, and I breathed an internal sigh of relief.

FBI guy asked, "And who are you?"

"My name is Godric; I am … a long-time friend of Eric's."

"Why, exactly, can he not answer our question if he's not involved with these crimes?" asked Homeland Security.

"Because vampires have their own ruling system in place in this country. Each state is ruled over by a monarch, and all the vampires who reside in that state must swear fealty to that monarch. To do or say anything that would … in any way disparage or damage that monarch, even if they are guilty of a heinous crime, would be considered treason under the vampire code of justice. So what Eric can't tell you is that his monarch, Queen Sophie Ann LeClerq who resides in New Orleans, is the person behind these attempted abductions."

"Why is it that you can tell us?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't reside in this state. I'm just visiting."

"I called Godric to help protect the Stackhouses," I offered.

Homeland Security asked, "What is the punishment for an act of vampire treason?"

Both Godric and I answered at the same time, "death." " _True_ death," I clarified. Both of the agents sat stunned for a moment.

FBI nodded and asked, "So who are these vampires who have attacked the Stackhouses?" Gods I wanted to answer, but I just couldn't. I looked at Godric.

"The first attempt was by Bill Compton, who I believe is the queen's procurer. The rather profane woman with him was his maker Lorena Ball. The second attack, the one in the greenhouse, was led by Andre Paul, who is the queen's progeny and her second in command. I don't know the identity of the vampires he had with him," Godric stated.

Homeland Security asked, "what exactly is a procurer?"

That I could answer, "a procurer is someone who … obtains things for someone."

He pressed on, "what kind of things?"

I had to pass this one to Godric who answered, "It could be anything the superior requests, in this case the Stackhouses. Gentlemen, let me express to you that although the practice of procuring humans is not completely unheard of, it is deeply, deeply frowned upon among most vampires. It is in fact illegal according to our laws. However, over time monarchs can often come to see themselves as invincible and above even our laws. I fear that this is the case with Louisiana's Queen Sophie Ann."

"Thank you for being forthcoming, Mr. …?"

"Godric."

"Is that your first or last name?"

"It is my only name." The government agents looked puzzled so he continued, "I was born in a time when most people only had one name. I do not feel the need to change that."

FBI stated, "I know you look like a teenager, but obviously you are much older than you look. Exactly how old are you?"

"I don't know exactly. There were no calendars until centuries after I was born."

Both agents sat in silence at that idea. "Mr. Langford, Mr. Pettigrew, I think you should know that Godric is one of the oldest vampires on earth. He is also one of the strongest and most respected. Even monarchs defer to him. I would not let the appearance of his physical age cause you to doubt anything he has to say."

Both agents turned slowly to look at Godric who simply looked back at them with a blank expression. FBI spoke first, "Thank you, Mr. errr, Godric. I appreciate you enlightening us about these things. I've not always found vampires to be very forthcoming."

"I understand. Others may have wanted to be forthcoming, but might have been under some legal constraint which didn't allow it," he paused, smiled and shrugged, "and then again, some vampires are just assholes."

The two agents were quiet for a moment, and then FBI chuckled and Homeland Security grinned. FBI added, "so are some humans."

Godric nodded, "indeed." Godric seemed to think for a minute, "It might interest you to know that each state monarchy has a treasury, into which each vampire in the state pays taxes. Queen Sophie Ann was audited recently by the IRS, and she owed nearly fifty million dollars in back taxes, penalties and interest. She raided the Louisiana treasury to pay her personal IRS debt."

Homeland Security whistled at that information. "She must not be a very good monarch…" I just snorted at that. Oh how I wanted to say more. He continued, "is that related to why she wanted the Stackhouses?" Godric and I remained silent. "How does she think having them would help her financially?" Homeland Security wasn't dumb. We were going to have to play this very carefully because the human world obviously didn't know about the existence of fairies.

"Perhaps just knowing of the queen's looting of the state treasury is enough for her to face some kind of embezzlement charge," Godric added. We both knew that was a pretty thin charge in this circumstance. Monarch's, while technically stewards of the treasury built up by their vampire constituency, always had absolute control of that money.

FBI said, "In other words, you know why the queen wants the Stackhouses, but you aren't at liberty to tell us." What do you know, FBI wasn't dumb either. Godric and I remained silent.

"There's something special about the Stackhouses, isn't there?" Homeland Security asked. If my heart beat, it would be thumping away right now. Sookie and Jason don't need to come under the law enforcement microscope. Again Godric and I remained silent.

"Does their blood have gold running through it or something?" chuckled FBI. No one else chuckled.

Homeland Security chimed in, "If I had to guess, I'd say there is more out there besides humans and vampires. That's the current theory circulating through law enforcement right now, anyway. And the Stackhouses, I'm guessing, are something other than human." By the look on FBI's face, this was news to him. Again, neither Godric nor I batted an eye. "Something that would be very valuable to a vampire."

There was an uncomfortably long silence that ensued.

Finally, I sat forward and put my elbows on the desk and clasped my hands in the air. "Agents, do you have any more questions for me? I have been out of town, and I'm afraid I have a lot of work to catch up on."

FBI stood up, but Homeland Security stayed seated. Finally he said, "I'll find out what they are… sooner or later." He stood up, "with or without your help."

Finally Godric stood, "I think it is important to remember that Jason and Sookie are the victims, Agent Pettigrew. Maybe catching those who are threatening them should be your focus, rather than threatening a local high school and college valedictorian and her all-state football quarterback brother." Agent Pettigrew stared at Godric, and Godric stared right back. I was wondering if we should attempt to glamour these two to forget all about the idea that Jason and Sookie might be something other than human. And the staring contest continued. Did Homeland Security actually think he could intimidate a vampire more than two thousand years old? That thought almost made me laugh, but I knew that now was not the time.

FBI seemed a little spooked from watching the stare-down. "Mr. Pettigrew, Godric and I have been as forthcoming with you as we can. If, hypothetically, something were to happen to the queen, I might find myself available to answer more questions."

Finally, Homeland Security slowly turned his head toward me. FBI almost breathed a sigh of relief when he did. Homeland Security looked at me and said, "I may hold you to that, Mr. Northman." He looked back at Godric, "If you don't know _exactly_ how old you are, then how old are you _approximately?_ "

Godric looked back at him for a moment, "are you a Christian, Mr. Pettigrew?"

"Yes, I'm Catholic."

Godrick nodded his head, "I was a few centuries old when your Christ was born. I would have liked to have met him … but I missed it." FBI gasped.

"And you, Mr. Northman, how old are you?" Homeland Security asked.

"We didn't have calendars either, Mr. Pettigrew. But if I had to guess… I'd say around half his age." I tilted my head toward Godric.

Homeland Security nodded, "I've heard you referred to as 'the Viking.' Were you a Viking, Mr. Northman?"

"I was. I am," I smirked.

"Well, how about that," was all FBI could say.

"So, obviously 'Northman' wasn't the name you were born with," Homeland Security added.

I just looked at him for a moment, "If you are trying to find something illegal about my name, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Northman has been my name for longer than America has been a country." I thought for another moment, "Somewhere in your family's distant past, there was a man who was simply named … let's say for the sake of discussion, his name was Thomas, and one day he decided, for whatever reason, to become Thomas Pettigrew. My name evolved in much the same way. And likely around the same time."

Homeland Security thought that over, "Fair enough."

FBI was attempting to get Homeland Security out the door, "Well, Mr. Northman, Godric, we thank you for your time. We may contact you again for information in the future, and hopefully you will be at liberty to inform us." The implied message was that Sophie Ann would be gone. "We will take our leave now." He nodded at Homeland Security, who only nodded at us, and then they were out the door.

A collective feeling of 'wheeww' overtook us as we sat in perfect synchronization, he on the sofa and I in my chair. I finally said, "Well, that was interesting."

"Indeed," Godric smirked. Just then my cell phone started to ring. I took it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"It's Rasul." I answered, "I am here."

"Eric, holy goats, it is bedlam here."

"Hold on, Rasul, Godric is here, I'm going to put you on speaker." I did so and put the phone down on my desk. "Go ahead."

"Hello steg far [step father]."

"Hello, Rasul, are you well?"

"I am well enough. I'm down the street from the palace. I had to get out of there to make this call."

I asked, "Has the queen seen any of the news coverage?"

"YES! If she wasn't a terrorist before, she's certainly a _terror_ now. She's at turns screaming violently and then catatonic, then screaming again. I'm seriously reconsidering returning to the palace. And Eric, she's really, really mad at you."

"I rather expected she would be. Did she see the press ask me questions earlier this evening?"

"Uhmm, yeah. She went pretty nuclear over that one especially. I tried to tell her that I'd known about your relationship for a while, but didn't know that she wanted the girl in question, and she almost staked me."

Godric told him, "do not go back to the palace, Rasul. The queen is likely to become more unstable before all of this is over. Where are you now, exactly?"

"I'm in my car, about a block away."

"Is there anything back at the palace that you can't live without?" I asked.

"No, I actually took the precaution to get everything I value out last night and put it in storage. Just in case. I left enough behind in my quarters, that it looks like nothing is amiss."

"Good thinking, min steg son," Godric said. "Now drive yourself up here to Shreveport. I will be waiting for you here at Fangtasia."

"And if the queen calls you, don't answer the phone," I added.

"I feel rather like a rat deserting a sinking ship," Rasul admitted.

"There's a difference between being pragmatic and blindly loyal to a crazy vampire you don't much like anyway. There is no dishonor in your actions. Do not feel any guilt over this," I said.

I could hear Rasul starting his car when he added, "I'm sorry I couldn't accomplish more for you, Eric."

"You've done more than enough, Rasul. Stay safe, and I will see you soon."

"I will see you soon, my brother, goodbye for now, steg far." He hung up.

Almost immediately after there was a knock on the office door. "Enter," I called. Mr. Cataliades walked in.

"Well, well, well. Life has certainly taken a turn for the exciting," he joked. "Hello, Godric, it is always good to see you." Godric smiled and nodded to him. "I decided to make my way up here once I saw Jason and Sookie's interview this afternoon. I want to be there if they should need me."

"You missed our interrogation by the FBI and Homeland Security earlier. Godric explained the vampire monarchy system to them because they were not happy that there were questions I couldn't answer," I explained to him.

"Did you say anything that could at all be construed as treason to your queen?" Mr. C asked.

Godric answered, "he did not."

"Good. I would expect that Sophie Ann will take some drastic steps in the next few days. Do not answer anymore questions without having me present. That is your right under law."

Just then my cell phone rang again, and one look told me it was the queen. I held it up for Godric and Mr. C to see. I put it down and let it go to voice mail, as I had last night. We chatted for a bit, while we waited for the beep that indicated a voice mail message. Like last night, that beep was a long time coming. When it finally did come, I put it on speaker and hit the icon for voice mail, and all three of us gathered around my desk to listen.

"Mr. Northman. You will notice I didn't call you Sheriff. That's because you are fired." At that statement, I looked at Cataliades as the queen started to laugh dementedly. "Bet you didn't see that coming, fucker. And as the monarch of this state, I am exercising my right to annex and confiscate all of your property in my state, including Fangtasia, The Bonne Chance Hotel and Casino, The Enchanted Garden, AND the Stackhouse siblings, as well as anything else you own in Louisiana. I want you out of my state by dawn. If you are caught in Louisiana after that time, you will be put to death. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, asshole." Then there was the click of the call ending.

I looked at Mr. Cataliades, "You weren't kidding about the drastic steps. Can she do that?"

He chuckled, "Of course not. This is what you pay me for." He pulled his cell phone out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "I'll need the two of you to remain absolutely quiet." He dialed and put the phone on speaker, then placed it on top of the desk. It rang twice and was answered by someone at the palace, "This is Desmond Cataliades, calling for Queen Sophie Ann."

A few minutes later Sophie Ann came onto the line, "Mr. Cataliades, oh thank you for calling me. I'm going to be needing your help, I think."

"Good evening, your majesty. I've seen the news broadcasts today, and I'm sorry for the trouble you currently seem to be going through. However, I'm not calling you as your potential attorney."

"WHAT? Then why are you calling?" she demanded.

"I'm calling as the attorney of record for Eric Northman. I am up here in Shreveport, and he just played me the voice mail you just left for him, and with all due respect, your majesty, you cannot confiscate his property."

"I. Most. Certainly. Can. His employment contract says so."

"Your majesty, if you will recall, I wrote that contract. Section twelve, paragraph 32B sets out the specific causes for which you can fire Mr. Northman and confiscate his property. Unfortunately for you, Mr. Northman has not committed any of the offenses listed in that section and paragraph. Therefore, you are not entitled to anything he owns. Furthermore, Section forty-two, paragraph one states that if you fire Mr. Northman for any other cause than listed in that aforementioned section, that you in fact owe him the pay that would be remaining to him as sheriff if he were to fulfill his contract for the full time listed therein. I calculate that as of today, that amount would be just over five million dollars. Consequently, I am requesting on his behalf that you either pay him that amount of money immediately, as in tonight, or reinstate him as Sheriff with all rights and duties appertaining thereto." I was smiling, as was Godric.

Sophie Ann screamed bloody murder. Then she screamed some more.

Mr. Cataliades was unfazed, "your majesty, which will it be? Are you prepared to pay Mr. Northman right now the amount of money you are required _under contract_ to pay him? I can help you arrange for an electronic transfer of funds if that would help."

There was continued screaming for a while, followed by a long silence. Finally she spoke, "what happens if I refuse to pay him?"

"Oh, I wouldn't advise that, your majesty. I would just get a court order which would include a full audit of the Louisiana treasury records, including any misappropriation of funds, in addition to a temporary restraining order against you or any of your agents who might act with aggression towards Mr. Northman or his property. In short, your majesty, you are in violation of the contract if you fire Mr. Northman without specific cause as listed in the contract, and you refuse to pay him. Under no circumstances are you entitled to his personal property. Furthermore, I'm afraid that I would have to bring this breach of contract to the attention of The Authority for enforcement. You should know that if you remain in breach of this contract as of the end of this phone call, my next call is going to be to The Authority."

Sophie Ann was actually panting on the other end of the line. How does someone who doesn't even need to breathe come to pant? Mr. Cataliades softened his tone, "Your majesty… Sophie Ann, I know things are not going well for you right now, but don't lay the blame for all this at Eric's feet. He has been a loyal, successful, profitable, and hard-working sheriff for you for years. How was he to know that _you_ were after his beloved? She simply called her boyfriend and asked for help, and he provided it. Don't make an already bad situation worse for yourself by having a knee-jerk reaction without knowing all of the facts." Come on, come on, come on….

"Fine. Sheriff Northman is reinstated to his position. But I will expect a full accounting of his involvement in all of this very soon."

"Very well, your majesty. I think you have made a very wise decision. I will let Eric know. Good luck to you, your majesty and good evening." He hung up before she could add anything else.

For the second time tonight I felt a huge 'wheeww' moment. "Godric, I think we may have to move up the timetable for The Authority's involvement. I no longer think this can wait until Monday."

"I think you may be right, but let's see, for the time being, how things play out."

"Thank you, Mr. Cataliades. I owe you a big one."

"Nonsense, Eric. I charge a lot of money for my services because I give my clients the best representation that can be had in the legal world," he paused. "Plus, that was really fun!" We all three laughed. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go check in on my godchildren, good evening, gentlemen." And he was gone.

"First the reporters, then the law enforcement, Rasul, Mr. Cataliades, and Sophie Ann. Who do you think will be the next to call or come through that door?" I asked Godric.

He shrugged, "be careful what you ask for…"

I chuckled, "I'm just asking for some peace and quiet right now. And to think, a couple weeks ago I was so, so bored."

Godric chuckled at that, "As was I. I admit that I am no longer." Godric seemed to be thinking something over. "You've arranged to release the video taken inside Bill Compton's house, yes?" I nodded. "What exactly is the explanation for a video taken inside his house?"

"As far as anyone will be able to tell, I don't know how that video happened, and I have nothing to do with it," I shrugged. "There's no way to trace it back to me, even if the surveillance equipment is discovered. I've had all of the video feed records destroyed. I've arranged for the video to be released through channels that cannot be traced to me either. So it will just have to be a great big mystery, I suppose."

"Very good. I'm going to take a quick run out to see the Stackhouses so that they know that as well. You did show this video to them, correct?"

"I did. That's a good idea. It must seem as if they've never seen it. Make sure they know," I added. "Tell Sookie, that I wish I could be there, but for tonight, I think it is better for me to stay here."

"I will, min son. Make sure that you stay safe. I should be back before Rasul arrives." And Godric was out the door. I don't know if he was going to go by the house and pick up his car, or run all the way to Bon Temps, which would probably be faster.

This 'game' was getting trickier and trickier. I hoped that all would end well for me and mine. Sophie Ann was becoming so unstable, that I had no idea what she might do next. As far as I knew, Andre was still in psychiatric lock up. I wish I had a video feed into that, purely for the entertainment factor. I wondered if Bill and Lorena had managed to free themselves from their 'boxes' in Alaska. Soon the next video would hit the media, if it hadn't already. No wonder I was beginning to feel like a circus performer with all the balls I had in the air. As Rasul would say, HOLY GOATS!

* * *

 **AN:** Here you go. Remember: Reviews are my only paycheck. And they make me really inspired to work harder and faster.

Thank you so much for the reviews since last time as of 4/8/17 from: Kyouki no Kitsune, ljhjelm49, peachesgo, MsNorthman, VampMad50, Asami's clown, jackie69, princessspot5, hummingbirdgrrl, LSinclair12, Duckbutt, ciasteczko, Nicolle1977, Perfecta999, grammysharbear2, fanfictionfan4444, Piso29


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - More Lessons to Learn

Not long after Godric left, I got to work on the next payroll for both Fangtasia and The Bonne Chance. I had tuned my laptop to stream CNN in case anymore news broke, and it played in the background while I worked on the paychecks. It wasn't long before they were breaking with a news story. "We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for an important update on the terrorist vampires in Louisiana." I looked up to watch.

The news anchor came on, "Good evening. America, indeed the world, has become enthralled and filled with fear regarding the attempted kidnapping plot aimed at two young adults in northern Louisiana by a cell of terrorist vampires. CNN has just received another video related to this heinous conspiracy. We warn you that the language is unedited and at times profane, therefore not for young ears. We will now play this video in its entirety." This should be good; I hadn't seen the edited version of this video.

The screen image changed to Bill Compton's trashed out living room. "This is Bill Compton calling the queen as she requested."

"She's been waiting for you to call; please hold while I connect you." There was a brief pause before Sophie Ann's voice came through.

"Bill, why don't I have the Stackhouses in my possession?"

"Your Majesty, I just got here a couple days ago. I haven't had a chance to secure your assets, but I'm making progress."

"I don't want progress; I want results. What's the hold up?"

"Your majesty, not only do they have lives here, but they also have a successful, well-known business as well as friends and family members who would surely report them missing. I have to proceed cautiously. I was hoping to entice them into voluntarily coming with me to New Orleans."

"I don't give a flying fuck about the business. Kill the family members and friends. Does the phrase 'scorched earth' mean anything to you? I want them here YESTERDAY. Andre looked them up on that interweb thing and told me they are both stunningly beautiful. Any number of courtiers, diplomats, business associates, as well as Felipe and other visiting royalty will give me anything I ask to have them for fucks and feeds. If he were physically able to, Andre would be salivating just to get at the girl. They'll be real money-makers on several fronts."

"So far all my efforts to make contact with them have been unsuccessful. They are always out on job sites or elsewhere when I go to their homes or business. I went on a glamouring campaign in town last night, but no one seems to know where they go when they aren't home."

"I expected more from you, Bill," she said and then paused. "What about Northman?"

"What about Northman?"

"Has he found out who you are after? Has he stood in your way?"

"Northman is just a stupid barbarian, but he's left me alone. Even if he tried to interfere, I'm much smarter than he is."

"Very funny, Bill, you just keep telling yourself that. He hasn't lived for over a thousand years because he's dumb. Just make sure that Northman doesn't catch wind."

"I would have no reason to tell him, your majesty. Frankly, I can't stand him. Meanwhile, I will get back to the task you have charged me with."

"Bring them to me. If they aren't here in short order – as in Monday of next week at the latest, I will send Andre to fetch them… And stake you. Am I understood?" At that he stopped his pacing, and seemed to look straight at the camera, his face a mask of panic and fear. Soon he collected himself.

"I won't fail you, my liege." The phone call ended. Bill's pacing became much more agitated as he began to take quick, gigantic strides around his horrible living room. "SHIT! Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit." He looked toward the window. He quickly dialed his phone. A voice answered.

"What?"

"Lorena, I need your help," and he proceeded to tell her the whole story as rapidly as he could, embellishing, of course, his role in it. Thank the gods he didn't mention anything about Jason and Sookie being fairies.

"I'll be there tomorrow night… and Bill, I'll expect payment."

"How much?"

She laughed, "Oh sweet William, I'm not talking about money." And with that she hung up as well.

That was the video. I couldn't tell where the edits were, and I'd seen the original video. The editor had done an outstanding job. The news anchor re-appeared onscreen, "This story has just taken a frightening turn. It appears that the goal in kidnapping these particular victims is to force them into some kind of sadistic vampire sexual/slavery situation. On this video for the first time we also heard the voice of this mysterious vampire 'queen', and we heard very clearly her orders to murder the friends and family of the intended victims. In addition, we heard attempted kidnapper Bill Compton call in another woman to help him accomplish his scheme. Our CNN voice analysts have identified the second female in the call as the threatening woman in the video that was previously released. So our estimate of the chain of events places this video occurring before the other two that have been shown in association with this story. Hold on one moment…"

I wondered what else they could come up with. The anchor returned, "I'm told that we will have a press conference in a few minutes from law enforcement officials currently being set up in Shreveport. I must add that in all my years of broadcasting, I've never witnessed a story unfold the way this one has. Here's a summary of what we know so far." And a graphic appeared on the screen enumerating the points of the story, one at a time as the anchor stated them. "First, there is someone referred to only as the 'queen' who has ordered the kidnapping of Jason and Sookie Stackhouse of Bon Temps, Louisiana, apparently for sexual slavery. Then this queen has ordered the murders of the friends and family of the intended kidnap victims. Next, Sookie Stackhouse is the girlfriend of Shreveport vampire Eric Northman, and she called him for help when the attacks began. Then Mr. Northman sent in friendly vampires to protect the Stackhouses since he was out of town himself. Finally, we know that the two videos detailing the kidnap attempts were released by a Bon Temps police detective earlier today, and this third video, source unknown, was released to the media tonight."

The screen returned from the graphics to the anchor. "I am told that they are now ready for the press conference in Shreveport. CNN special assignment reporter, Cecile Peveto, is on hand, Cecile…"

The screen once again showed Miss Peveto, "Thank you Richard. We are here outside the Shreveport Police Department where in just a few moments representatives from the FBI and Homeland Security will shed some light on their investigation. There has been a true collaborative effort among law enforcement agencies throughout this situation. And I believe they are ready for the press conference to begin." The camera was then on the bank of microphones in front of the police building. FBI and Homeland Security from my office earlier tonight walked up to the make-shift podium.

"Good evening. I am Special Agent Paul Langford of the FBI, and this is Special Agent Tom Pettigrew of Homeland Security. While we are still fairly early in this investigation, we thought it prudent to give an update on the efforts of law enforcement to solve this frightening case so that Americans can rest easier knowing that everything is being done to assure the safety of our citizens.

"First and foremost, I want to praise the Renard Parish Sheriff's Department in Bon Temps, Louisiana under the leadership of Sheriff Bud Dearborne and Detective Andy Bellefleur. Because of their quick responses to calls for help from Jason and Sookie Stackhouse and their family, these kidnappings have so far been prevented. They may be a small-town police force, but they have excelled in the protection of their citizens. In collaboration with the Shreveport Police Department, Sheriff Dearborne was able to apprehend three vampires who were attempting not only to kidnap the Stackhouses, but who also had threatened to kill their family, friends, employees, and even the Bon Temps police. Two of those vampires are currently in custody here in Shreveport, while their unidentified leader was transported to the state psychiatric facility for evaluation, where he remains today.

"In our investigation we interviewed Shreveport businessman and vampire Eric Northman. Although Mr. Northman could not identify this queen referenced in the videos, we are convinced that his only involvement in this case is rendering aid to his girlfriend, Sookie Stackhouse, when she called for it while he was out of town. He summoned what we are calling 'friendly' vampires, some of them from out-of-state, to come and protect the Stackhouses as well as their friends and family.

"Our investigation is not over; it is just beginning. We have yet to apprehend the vampire Bill Compton and his female accomplice identified in the most recently released video as Lorena. And we have a message for the mastermind behind this crime, this despicable criminal and terrorist identified only as the 'queen'. We have heard your voice now. Your own words have condemned you. You cannot hide from us. We will find you. We will apprehend you. You will be punished. No one is above the law."

Holy goats, indeed. That had to make Sophie Ann's head explode. Points in my favor: he said I couldn't identify the queen, and he corroborated my story that I was only involved because of a call from my girlfriend. Not that Sophie Ann would be thinking clearly enough to absorb either of those points.

The press proceeded to ask them a lot of the same questions they had asked everyone else, and they gave the same answers. When I had first conceived of this plan, I had anticipated that it _might_ go national. I had underestimated how big this would actually get. I just shook my head. A few minutes later, Godric walked back into my office. "Everything OK?" I asked him.

"Indeed. Both of them are aware of the script they must adhere to."

"You got there and back pretty fast. Did you run?" I asked.

He smirked, "It's a beautiful night. I thought a flight was in order."

I smiled, "Of course. They just played the third video on CNN, and the two agents who were here earlier gave a press conference. I recorded it; would you like to see?"

Godric shrugged, "maybe later. Any word from Rasul?"

"No. Depending on how fast he drives, it should take three to five hours to get here from New Orleans."

"So, a little longer yet. Jason said that they had not yet been questioned by the authorities, other than the local police as the events were unfolding. I suspect that the visitors we had tonight will make their way to them soon. They know what to say."

Just then the house phone on my desk began to ring. I looked at it, but decided to let someone in the bar answer it. "If you'll excuse me, Godric, tomorrow is payday, and I'm only about half-way through these paychecks. I have a lot of employees."

"Is there a reason you do this tedious task yourself? There are any number of payroll services who will save you a lot of time and for very little money. They'll take care of payroll taxes and W-2's. They'll even set you up with direct deposit for each employee. You never have to sign a paycheck again." I just looked at him, and he smirked back at me. "For someone who prides himself with keeping up with modern technology, why are you so behind the times on this?"

Oh, how I wish I had a good answer to give him. But the simple truth was, as Pamela was fond of telling me, I was a control freak. I didn't like to delegate much when it came to my money. I'd let my various managers etc. take care of any number of matters, but the checkbook had always been where I'd drawn the line. But Godric was right, and so was Pamela who had been trying to convince me to hire a payroll service for a long time. "I… I don't … I don't trust strangers with my money."

Godric just looked at me for a moment with a blank face, and then he started to laugh. And he laughed and laughed. "My Eric, even if a payroll service were to try to steal from you, how much could they realistically get? Could they possible rob you down to nothing?"

"Well, no. But still…"

"Eric, these companies are bonded. These bonds insure their honesty. Don't be absurd over the possible theft of a little money, when it buys you the valuable commodity of time. I, more than anyone, am aware of the limitless amount of time at our disposal, but if not for your absurd distrust, you could be spending time with your beloved tonight! Or at the very least handling some other matter of importance."

I just looked at him, "Did Pamela put you up to this?"

He seemed surprised by that question, "No. Why, has she been trying to get you to use such a service?" I nodded, and he laughed some more. Well, my granddaughter is completely right about this. Don't be so stubborn." He thought for a moment, "unless there is some other reason for doing this yourself?"

I put my head down; could I tell him? "She wants me to use a service so that doing the payroll won't keep me off of that ridiculous throne in the club so much. And that is exactly why I don't use a service."

Godric just looked at me. "So if you weren't back here doing the payroll, you'd be sitting out on your club's vampire throne?" I nodded. He started laughing again, and I felt ridiculous when he put it that way. "Eric, hire a payroll service, and here is a … crazy idea, hire someone else to sit on the throne." He paused, "now that you have your Sookie, how much time are you going to want to sit out there anyway?" He looked at me intensely, the way he always did when he was teaching me a lesson in the past. Again, I felt foolish. "Min son, you are a very wealthy vampire, with a fairly extensive business empire. Start thinking and living like you are."

I just looked at him. "How is it that I can be more than a thousand years old, and yet you can still teach me things?"

He grinned, "Eric, you would have figured this out the first time it truly interfered with your time with Sookie. The only reason I have to point this out to you is that your relationship with her is so new. This wasn't me teaching, this was me showing you your own foolish stubbornness. Now get out there and start living like the captain of industry that you are!" He just looked at me, and I chuckled. Of course he was right.

"Hold on," I said. I picked up my phone to call my day man. "Bruce, I want you to find me a reputable payroll service by tomorrow night." I sat back for a moment and thought. And then it came to me. I picked up my phone again and searched through my contacts and found the number I was looking for. I dialed and waited; I got voicemail, "Francois, comment vas-tu mon ami? C'est Eric en Amérique. J'ai une proposition d'emploi pour vous. Appelez-moi, et je vais vous en informer tout à fait. Vous ne gagnerez jamais d'argent plus facile dans votre vie. Je vais payer toutes vos dépenses pour venir ici. Appelez-moi dès que vous recevez ce message." [Francois, how are you, my friend? This is Eric in America. I have a job proposition for you. Give me a call, and I'll tell you all about it. You will never earn easier money in your life. I will pay all of your expenses to move here. Call me as soon as you get this message.]

I looked at Godric and raised my eyebrows as if asking his opinion. "Tres bien," he smiled. "He will be quite the hit with the ladies." My friend Francois was quite the handsome vampire, with long black hair and ice blue eyes. I knew he would be a hit on the throne. And best of all, once he got here, I would be free of that loathsome duty! Now was the hardest part. I picked up the house phone and called Pamela to me. A few moments later she knocked on the door.

"Enter" I said. Pam came into the office and stood waiting with her hands on her hips. "I have something to tell you." She raised one eyebrow at me as if to say, 'no duh'. I smiled at her unspoken insolence. "I've decided to take your advice and hire a payroll company for all my businesses. " At this she raised both eyebrows. "There's more. I have also contacted my friend Francois in Europe. My plan is to hire him to take over my throne duties." At this, Pamela narrowed her eyes and practically squinted at me. "If he agrees, and I'm pretty sure he will, I will begin running my businesses altogether a little less hands on. Do you understand?" She just looked at me for a while, and then she nodded. "Good. I'm glad we could have this little chat." She just smirked and turned to walk to the door.

Before she was completely out the door, I heard her say softly, "About damn time." I looked over at Godric who was smirking, and I just rolled my eyes. It wasn't long after that there was another knock on my door.

"Enter," I called for what felt like the millionth time that night. The door opened and there was Rasul. I rose and greeted him again with the forearm clasp of brotherhood. He smiled in relief to be in Shreveport. He turned and saw Godric, and they hugged each other.

"Ah, steg far, I have missed you," Rasul said during the embrace.

"And I you, min steg son," Godric replied. "I am so glad you are here and safe."

"As am I. Has anything happened since we spoke?" Rasul asked.

I nodded. "There was a third video released to the media and a press conference from law enforcement. I recorded them. Would the two of you like to see it now?" Rasul nodded.

They both walked up behind me, and I ran those two things for them to see. When they were over, Rasul and Godric stood there in silence.

Finally Rasul spoke, "I am sure as hell glad I got out of there before the threats from law enforcement happened. They frightened me, and I'm a vampire," he paused. "I wonder now if there is anyone left alive at the palace," he shook his head. "Sophie Ann was decidedly on edge when I left. This must have pushed her completely over … that edge."

"You are most welcome in this area. By the grace of Cataliades, I am still sheriff here. Sophie Ann fired me earlier this evening, but when Mr. C pointed out that would mean that instead of getting ownership of all my personal assets and properties as she had hoped, that, in fact, she owed me over five million dollars, I was miraculously reinstated."

Rasul looked shocked at first, and then he burst into laughter. "Again, I am so, so glad that I am out of there! That must have had her clinging by her over-manicured nails from the ceiling."

I chuckled too, "well, she was panting once Cataliades explained her situation to her." Rasul just laughed that much harder.

He tried without much luck to calm himself down, "Have I mentioned how glad I am to be out of there?" Even Godric was chuckling. I was just glad to have my brother with me and safe.

Just then the house phone rang again, and all three of us turned to look at it. I shrugged and let it get answered out in the bar. A few minutes later, Pam knocked on the door to let me know that I had a call, but it wasn't the queen. I walked over and tapped the speaker button, and then I hit line one as I sat behind my desk. "Northman."

"Eric, mi amigo." By the gods, it was Felipe de Castro; could this night get any stranger?

"I am here," was all I said.

"And so you are, Eric. This is Felipe de Castro. I trust all is well with you?" I looked at Rasul and Godric who were both seated in the chairs in front of my desk. Both of them had wide eyes.

"Good evening, your majesty. All is indeed well with me. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I saw you on television earlier this evening," he chuckled. "So much entertainment on television is coming out of Louisiana lately, es verdad?" [is that true?] I didn't answer as there was nothing to say. After a moment of silence, he continued, "How do you think this entire fiasco is going to be resolved?"

"I do not know, your majesty," I said as the safest answer I could think of.

"Perhaps a change in leadership is in order, no estάs de acuerdo? [wouldn't you agree?] I remained silent; to say anything else to that would border that treason line. He laughed, "according to ancient English law, silence is agreement. That was what led Sir Thomas More to the executioner's block in the time of Henry the Eighth."

"While I admit that your highness is obviously well learned, with all due respect, my silence is simply that, silence. I neither mean it as agreement nor dissension." Godric's nod at me let me know that I hadn't misstepped.

Felipe laughed, "what a grand politician you are, mi amigo." He paused, "I saw your … shall we say girlfriend? on television also. What a beauty she is. How lucky you must feel to acquire such a one as she?" I stood up from my seat involuntarily. Godric stood to get my attention, shaking his head. Suddenly Sophie Ann's panting didn't seem such a mystery as I felt myself on the verge of the same activity. Godric reached across and placed a hand on my arm. I looked into his eyes, and they calmed me down, and I knew I had to be smart.

"I beg your pardon, your majesty. You have still not told me why you are calling," I managed to say in a voice that was much more calm than I was feeling.

"Ah well, so much for the niceties of discourse. Eric, it is obvious to the entire vampire world that your queen is going down. I am calling to ask your support should I find myself in position to obtain Louisiana. You are a successful sheriff and businessman. You would be an asset to any monarch. Can I count on your support?"

"Your majesty, I am grateful for the compliments you have given me. However, if I were to answer that question, I would open myself to accusations of treason from my current monarch. And as long as she is my monarch, I am not at liberty to give any different answer. I trust you understand."

"Actually, it makes you even more desirable to me. Such regimented loyalty is to be commended. And I understand why you are taking this position, and I respect it. Well done. I hope we have more freedom to discuss such things in the near future. Good evening, Sheriff."

"Good evening, your majesty." And the phone clicked off. I just threw my head onto the back of my chair and looked at the ceiling. "Well since last night was the best night of my life, it only makes sense that tonight would be the strangest night of my life." I looked at the clock on the back of my office wall. It was barely past midnight. "And maybe the longest."

Just then my cell phone rang again. I tilted my head to the side and opened my eyes wide as if to say, really? I sighed and picked up my phone to see who was calling. I smiled as I saw it was my Sookie. I answered immediately, "hello, my Sookie."

"Good phone manners, hello, my Eric. How are you doing this evening?"

I spun my chair around and faced the wall behind my desk, "I can't lie to you, this has been one strange evening. How are you doing, my love?"

"Missing you like crazy. I just keep closing my eyes and seeing you above me from last night."

By the gods, the little minx just made me hard within two sentences of conversation. "Oh, Sookie. I'm _hard_ at work on my payroll, and you've just made me hard in other ways."

She giggled, "well, I didn't mean to disturb you, so I guess I'd better go."

"Don't you dare hang up," I laughed. "I'm so glad you called. Really, how is everything going for you since the press conference this afternoon?"

"We've been holding up here in Gran's. Jason's spending the night to avoid the reporters if he goes out to his truck to go home. Lafayette came in after closing to let us know that in spite of the press brigade outside that we had a lot of new business. That pretty much settled Jason down. He keeps spare work clothes here anyway, so he's not all that put out." She paused, "I saw you on TV earlier tonight too."

"What did you think of how I did?"

"Do you have any idea what it did to me when you said on TV, on national TV, that you love me?"

"No, what did it do to you, my Sookie?"

"Let's just say that I'm still smiling, and that was hours ago. Not to mention how handsome you looked."

"Oh, I've had a call or two telling me how beautiful you looked on TV. Mostly people I want to kill, but I had the calls." She just laughed. I was pretty sure she didn't believe me about the 'wanting to kill'. If only she knew.

"Have you been questioned yet by the FBI or Homeland Security?"

"Not yet, but they called and said they would be here in the morning."

"They questioned me tonight. It was … interesting."

"Did they give you a hard time?" she asked sounding really concerned.

"No, there were just a lot of questions I couldn't answer without committing treason against my queen. Thank the gods that Godric was here. He was able to explain the situation to them, as well as answer a lot of those questions. I should warn you that they seemed really interested in why Sophie Ann would think that you and Jason would help her solve her budget shortfall. The guy from Homeland Security thinks that you may be something other than human. Of course, neither Godric nor I answered his questions. Be careful around him."

"Oh goodness, what should I say if he asks about that?"

"They questioned me before the release of the final video, you know, the one you'd never seen until tonight?"

"Uh huh."

"Good girl. There's a pretty good explanation about how Sophie Ann hoped to turn you and your brother into sexual slaves on that video. If anything, stick to that story as the only thing you can think of as the reason for her desire for you."

"OK. Oh, Eric, I'm so ready for all this… this… bullshit to be over."

I chuckled, "as am I, my Sookie. As am I."

"What I really want, is for the two of us just to be able to start our lives together. I don't mean to create pressure regarding the relationship, but we've just found each other, and I want to be able to enjoy that. To enjoy _just_ that."

"You don't need to equivocate my Sookie. I feel the same way. It's fucked up that we've just found this amazing other part of ourselves, and we are saddled with all of this other junk."

"Actually, I used the extra time I seemed to have to work on my thesis. I was doing great until I started writing about the Night Bloom Water Lilies, and what do you know? I lost all ability to concentrate," she giggled.

"They are quite beautiful, and the water they are in is quite cool… I seem to remember that water making your nipples pucker quite beautifully."

"Why do you think I couldn't concentrate any more?" We both laughed.

Oh, my Sookie, have I told you that last night was the best night of my life?"

"Seriously? You've been around for over a thousand years; are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I have no other night that comes close in comparison."

"Wow… just wow. You know what? It was the best night of my life too!"

"Oh my Sookie, once all this nonsense is over, I'm going to show you such a good time. I want to show you the world, and see it freshly through your eyes."

"That sounds awesome, Eric. I may hold you to that," she yawned. "I'm sorry. I guess that I'm more tired than I thought. I don't want to, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go."

"I understand. Sleep well, my lover."

"Take care, my Eric. I can't wait until I see you again."

"Good night, my Sookie." She hung up. I just sat there for a moment, basking in the glow of our shared love. I turned my chair around to face my desk again, only to face Godric and Rasul, both grinning from ear to ear. Oh, for fuck's sake.

Rasul asked, "so, the lily pond water was cold?"

Godric added, "just how hard are you now, my Eric?"

"Oh, just shut up the both of you," I insisted. For some reason they both found that statement hilariously funny.

* * *

 **AN:** Translations from Google Translate; if they're not right, blame them. Remember reviews are my only paycheck.

Special thanks to all reviewed the last chapter as of 4/10/17: Duckbutt, ljhjelm49, VampMad50, Guest, Asami's clown, JustMe, princessspot5, Nicolle1977, jackie69, MsNorthman, BriiReader28, hummingbirdgrrl, Perfecta999, peachesgo, ashmo2000, grammysharbear2, autumnchild25, fanfictionfan4444. Special thanks to ashmo2000 for being the 200th reviewer!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Father, Son, and Holy Goats

 **AN:** Parhump is pronounced puh-rump'.

4:27 p.m. Thursday

Eyes pop open, roll out of bed and stretch. Swish the mouse and grab the remote and tune to HNN, just the headline news to start, while I go to the refrigerator to grab THREE bags of blood. My little household keeps growing with now the addition of not only Godric, but also Rasul. I pop two bags into the microwave because it would be a little while, but not long, before Rasul rose. In the background I heard the television.

"and the discovery of the governor's affair has led to his resignation. Also in the news, to absolutely no one's surprise, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that they have officially replaced the accounting firm for their annual Academy Awards ceremony next year after the debacle at the end of this year's broadcast. Some in the Hollywood community are applauding the move by the Academy, while others are crying that this is, in the words of Shakespeare, much ado about nothing." I couldn't help but chuckle about the governor's affair. I could only imagine what would happen if the governor of any state had full-blown nightly orgies like Sophie Ann, and the media found out about it. I shook my head at the imagery.

"And that is the wrap-up of this half hour, stay tuned after a few words from our sponsors, for the latest news on the Louisiana Vampire Terrorist plot at the top of the next half hour." And then a bank of commercials started.

I was just pouring the blood into a couple large mugs when Godric walked into the room. "Good afternoon, Master. All is well?"

"As ever, Eric, and with you?" He took the mug I offered him and took a sip.

"I'm fine also. Just waiting to see what news might have broken during the day. I was thinking that I would drive out to Bon Temps after dark. Would you like to accompany me?"

"I'd like to go," Rasul added from just outside the door.

"You're up earlier than I expected, Rasul, I'll get you a blood," I offered.

Rasul looked at the time and a look of wonder was on his face. "I'm old enough to rise well before sunset, but this is the earliest I've ever risen. He paused for a moment, "This is great! Do you think it will last?"

Godric smiled, "possibly. The time we rise can be rather inconsistent for various reasons, in much the same way that humans will rise at different times without the consistency of their alarm clocks."

Rasul looked just a little disappointed, but as he always did, he rebounded quickly. "What's going on?"

I had pulled the bag for him out of the microwave, and as I was pouring it into a mug, the commercials ended. "Hold on."

"Good Afternoon. The story about the Terrorist Vampire cell in Louisiana took an interesting turn today. An undentified source revealed the existence of an unconfirmed vampire ruling system. This is a system based on a series of what are called 'monarchs' in each state in the country. These alleged 'monarchs' appear to have absolute authority over all of the vampires who reside in their states, up to and including the enforcement of a justice system outside of the American justice system. These monarchs act as judge, jurors, and executioners of the vampires under their domain. There are no appeals. Further, according to Homeland Security, any vampire in any state who voices anything at all against their monarch is automatically guilty of treason against that monarch, which is instantly punishable by the true death. Even if the so-called treasonous vampire is attempting to report dastardly crimes that the monarch is committing. Analysts have reported that it is no wonder that vampires are fighting so hard for the Vampire Rights Amendment, when they are currently subjected to such draconian standards. In spite of the unconfirmed nature of this report, the information was released to multiple news outlets, and it is currently being investigated. We will bring you more news as it develops."

I looked at Godric and then Rasul, and I said, "Holy Goats!"

Rasul smiled, "As I've heard the humans say, get out of my head!" Godric and I chuckled.

"We're going out to Bon Temps later, do you want to join us?" I asked him.

He seemed to think for a moment and looked at Godric, "If I am caught in the cameras of reporters, am I guilty of treason?"

"An interesting question, min steg son. On the one hand, you have said nothing treasonous about your queen outside of our immediate company. On the other hand, you have left your post in her regime. Hold on." Godric pulled out his phone. He dialed and waited, "Mr. Cataliades, this is Godric. I have a legal question for you."

All of us could hear the response, "Godric. I am here in Bon Temps, can you come out here, and we can talk?"

"That is the source of the question, actually. My step son, Rasul, from Sophie Ann's court has fled that disaster, after threats from her upon his life – I might add, and he is with us here in Shreveport. We were going to come out to Bon Temps after dark, so that we could visit with the Stackhouses. If Rasul is spied up here with us, is there any way he has committed treason against the queen?"

There was an uncomfortably long silence while Mr. C contemplated the question. Finally he asked, "Has Rasul said anything – at all – to anyone about the queen?" Rasul shook his head.

"He has not," Godric answered.

Mr. C seemed to contemplate the answer a while longer again. "My legal opinion is that an employee in the United States of America has the right to walk away from any employment situation in which they find their life in jeopardy. However, as news is apparently breaking to reveal a separate legal system for vampires, I can find nothing of legal precedent which would not grant the same right to a vampire in a vampire's monarch's court. Barring anything to the contrary in Rasul's employment contract, he can walk away from that job at any time." Mr. C chuckled, "In any event, it looks as if Sophie Ann is going down. Soon. Frankly, if I were Rasul, I wouldn't worry about it." It was then that I noticed Rasul smiling.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"When I presented myself to Sophie Ann for a position of employment, she presented me with a contract, but hired me on the spot, based largely on your recommendation, Eric. However, I never signed that contract and neither did she. A small detail or oversight that never occurred to her to correct. I just started working for her. That unsigned contract was one of the things I got out of my quarters night before last," Rasul said.

Mr. C burst into laughter, "No contract, no treason! You are free as a bird, Rasul." He continued to laugh. "However, Rasul, as you appear to be related to vampires I really care about, I suggest that you and I get better acquainted. I want to assure your safety in future matters." He hung up.

Rasul smiled again. I thought the image of Rasul smiling was his most familiar aspect, in spite of his troubled beginning as a vampire. He was smart, loyal, and overwhelmingly pleasant. I thought that pleasantness must have been a holdover from his human life, which had been buried during his early days/years as a vampire. If I had to guess, I'd say that Rasul's human life was, on the whole, pleasant. There was no other accounting for his overall pleasing personality. It was what endeared him to monarchs as well as others in the vampire hierarchy. However, I also knew that there was a somewhat shrewd politician buried underneath that veneer of hospitality. He gave the image of almost naiveté. But I knew that the naïve part of that was just an act. Others would always underestimate him if they only believed in the naïve, pleasant façade. His eyes saw more, knew more than most would ever glean.

As I'd learned all those centuries ago, he was a genuinely good person. If he ever found his personal 'Sookie', she would be a very, very lucky woman. In short, I felt that his ability to be perceived as nothing more than pleasant, to be his biggest misdirection and his most disarming weapon, especially since I knew the warrior he really was capable of being. Not that he couldn't also be completely sincere as well.

"Well then, it looks like I will be going to Bon Temps with you," Rasul said. "I look forward to meeting your lovely Sookie and her family in person, Eric."

I nodded at him and smiled myself. Then I turned my attention back to the television. HNN continued with the news of the day beyond the vampires. I turned the channel to CNN which gave more in-depth coverage. They were nearing the end of the broadcast hour by now, and I knew we would have to wait a bit for the top of the hour.

Rasul sat in the chair in the corner of my bedroom and stretched out his legs. He wasn't as tall as me, but he was close. He looked like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and I was also glad that he was out of Sophie Ann's court. He started talking, "I wonder what has happened at court since last night."

I just looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Eric, but that had been my home for several years. There are some genuinely good people in there. Mostly humans, but still…" he shrugged. "It might also surprise you to know that , although they look like scary, crude barbarians, Wybert and Sigebert are actually quite the gentle souls. Don't get me wrong, they can fight like warriors, but their default setting, when not on duty, is actually different. It's just that they've never known vampire life apart from Sophie Ann. I'm not sure they would be able to survive without their duty to her."

Godric asked, "are you worried about anyone in particular?"

"No, not really, just about them all in general. I hope Sophie Ann doesn't go on a murdering rampage, that's all."

Godric paused, "so do we." I nodded. The top of the hour rolled around and CNN picked up their broadcast.

"The Supreme Court ruled decades ago that 'separate but equal' was an unsuitable practice for public education in America. Will they need to make a similar ruling for the vampires of America? That is the current question taking America by storm today as news of a secret vampire ruling system is emerging. Our legal analyst Cynthia Gallegos has more on this story."

Godric, Rasul and I just looked at one another. The broadcast with Ms. Gallegos continued.

"Thank you, John. America and the American legal system was rocked today as reports of a completely separate ruling system is not only in place for vampires in this country, but that it has been in place for decades if not centuries. Basically each state in this country is ruled by a vampire monarch, and all vampires who live in a particular state must swear fealty, or allegiance, to their monarch. In addition, on top of taxes paid to the U.S. government through the Internal Revenue System, vampires must pay additional taxes to fill the state coffers of each monarch. These monarch's appear to have life and true death dominion over their subjects. The highest crime appears to be speaking out against the monarchy, even when the monarch is guilty of crimes, and the only punishment usually enforced against the outspoken vampire appears to be true death.

"The appearance of this vampire ruling system, just on its surface, appears to be unconstitutional on at least two basic levels. The constitution guarantees its citizens the right to freedom of speech. A right the founding fathers found so fundamental that it was the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights. Further, it appears that these vampire monarchs are in violation of the 16th amendment to the constitution which established the right of this country to collect income tax. While the individual states are allowed under this amendment to collect a state income tax, and all but seven states collect some form of income tax, as well as the allowance of county and municipal taxes, no private, non-US governmental entity is entitled by law to do the same. The illegal collection of these taxes may be prosecuted either as extortion charges or with charges filed under the RICO, or illegal racketeering, act.

"The problem vampires have in bringing this illegal ruling system to justice appears to be the rather draconian punishment for exercising their first amendment right to freedom of speech. In addition to swearing fealty, vampires must seek permission from their illegal government to live in a certain area, to open a new business, among other imposed regulations that most non-vampire citizens take for granted. It is unclear at this point if the currently proposed Vampire Rights Amendment was designed to have any effect on this ruling system. John…"

"Cynthia, why do you think this is just coming to light now?"

"John, I think this is directly related to what is happening in Louisiana. The Louisiana monarch, apparently a queen in this instance, had ordered the abduction of these two young adults in the northern part of her state. One can only wonder what other atrocities these monarchs have been able to perpetrate under their veil of secrecy. It is important to note that the FBI and Homeland Security are now gathering as much information as they can on these state cabals with the intention of dismantling as much of their illegal infrastructure as possible. Homeland Security stressed that this ruling structure is limited to only a few vampires. Overall, it appears that most vampires are law-abiding; in fact, they apparently must abide by more laws than all non-vampire citizens."

All three of us just sat there in silence for a moment. Finally Godric asked, "Can any of this possibly be traced back to you, Eric?" I shook my head. "How can you be sure?"

I just continued shaking my head, "Because I haven't yet released the story of the ruling system that I have prepared."

Godric and Rasul just stared at me. Rasul asked, "then… who?"

"I have no idea…" I thought for a minute. "Maybe this is all based on what you told those agents last night, Godric."

Godric thought that over for a moment and then shrugged, "possibly. However, I only said all that because I knew release of that information was imminent. Now, apparently, you don't have to worry about that."

Stunned, we all just looked at each other. Then Rasul began to chuckle, and it was contagious as we all ended up laughing at this unexpectedly ridiculous situation.

When we'd sobered up a little, Godric raised an important question, "if the monarchies go down, what about the sheriff positions? They must surely be abolished as well. Who then will keep unruly vampires in check?" That was a very good question; I could think of a few vampires in my area alone who might become dangerous if they had no fear of justice from me. I would have to mull that one over to find a solution. Nothing could be worse for attaining equal rights than incidences of vampire violence against humans. Just look how much coverage this current situation had merited.

The television interrupted my thoughts, "This has just come in. The vampire queen of Louisiana has been positively identified as New Orleans businesswoman Sophie Ann LeClerq. Ms. LeClerq, or Queen Sophie Ann, as she is referred to by the vampires in Louisiana, has lived in Louisiana for an undetermined, but apparently great length of time. We are told that law enforcement in New Orleans expect to make an arrest soon. We'll keep you updated as events unfold."

Without taking his eyes off of the TV screen, Rasul muttered, "have I mentioned how glad I am to be away from there?" He seemed to think something over for a moment, "what do you think The Authority is doing right about now?"

Godric answered, "that, min steg son, is the question of the hour."

Rasul turned to us to ask, "and where the hell has Nan Flanigan been during all of this? I would have thought the AVL would be all over this." That was another very good question. "You know who else has been suspiciously quiet since these stories started? The Fellowship of the Sun. You would think that they would be screaming their heads off. What are they up to?" I watched Rasul as he was placing all of the pieces on his mental chessboard. Yes, anyone who underestimated him would do so at their own peril.

We flipped to a few other channels, but no one had any different information than we'd already seen. We all got ready and met back in my room to go to Bon Temps. I'd become so accustomed to seeing Rasul in a suit, that it seemed odd to see him a solid white t-shirt, jeans, and a casual blazer. He finished his ensemble with a pair of red Converse sneakers. He was quite the Dapper Dan hipster.

"Are we all ready to go?" I asked. Everyone nodded. "We'll take my SUV then, let's go." When we pulled into the driveway on Hummingbird Lane there were only a couple of news vans left. Perhaps the rest had caravanned to New Orleans for the imminent arrest of the queen. There were, however, several cars that I assumed belonged to customers. I pulled up to the front of the office to park, and all three of us got out of the car. We walked into the office and Lafayette and Jesus were behind the counter helping a man with his plant purchase. It looked like one of the female Weres had been assigned to office duty as well and was helping a couple go through a portfolio of landscape designs.

Lafayette greeted us, "hey there, Eric, Godric. Who's your friend?" he added flirtatiously eyeing Rasul. Jesus chuckled and lightly slapped his arm with the back of his hand. Lafayette turned to him, "what?"

Jesus shook his head, "you just can't help yourself, can you?"

Lafayette just said, "I have no idea what you on about." He turned back to us, "they's both in the main greenhouse right now." He lifted the hinged part of the counter and we walked through and into the greenhouse.

Jason was on the far left with a couple, and he had a large sketch pad in his hands drawing away as the couple talked and pointed at various plants. I noticed the Weres spread throughout the greenhouse helping various customers with their plant selections. But I didn't see Sookie anywhere. Finally, way at the back of the greenhouse her head popped up and she had a small plant in her hands. She showed it to the rather handsome customer who was standing there, and he smiled at her. I felt a sudden rush of jealousy, and then a feeling of alarm, and Godric put his hand on my arm. I turned and looked at him questioningly.

"Stop growling, Eric," he whispered with a smile. I hadn't even realized that I had growled. I looked at Rasul, and he had a smile as well. Well, fuck me.

Just then Sookie looked over and saw me, and she turned on that million watt smile and waved. The customer she was with looked over, too. It was quite a distance away, but I swear I saw a glimmer of recognition pass his face, and he looked suddenly toward the new back door. That seemed odd to me. I started walking at human speed toward where Sookie was, followed by Godric and Rasul. The customer watched us for about five steps before he turned and ran for the back door where he seemed to freeze in place. I took Sookie's hand as I passed her and she turned to walk with me when the back door seemed to open of its own accord, and the customer practically floated out. We followed and closed the door behind us. When we were finally out of sight of the customers inside, Clovache materialized in front of us holding onto the collar of Sookie's customer.

The customer started squirming, "what's going on here?" I looked at Clovache.

"This Were was acting strange the entire time he was here. He was constantly checking exits and where Sookie and Jason were at any given time. Other employees tried to wait on him, but he would nod them off and waited until Sookie was free, and led her to the back of the greenhouse," Clovache informed us.

"Eric, what is going on?" Sookie asked.

"I'm not sure, my Sookie, maybe nothing, but I want to be sure." I walked over to the Were customer, "what is your name?"

"None of your fucking business. I'm never shopping here again. Let me go."

"Do you know who I am?" I asked him.

"How would I know that?" he barked.

"You seemed to recognize me when you saw me, and then you started checking the back exit. Why is that? Clovache, will you search him please."

"Get away from me. You guys are freaks!" he screamed as he started flailing about. Godric grabbed his arms to hold him still. "Let go of me!" Clovache then searched him. What she found was very interesting. She handed the items to me.

"Well, well, well, what have we here. This is a picture of Sookie, and oh, here's one of Jason." I handed them to Rasul. "And what is this?" I said as I took the top off of a small bottle. "Chloroform? And a rag. And the piece de resistance, handcuffs." I handed everything to Rasul.

"Oh my God," Sookie whispered.

"Do you recognize this guy, Rasul?" I asked.

"I do not," he replied. Then Clovache handed me his wallet.

I pulled out his driver's license. "Floyd Grout, age twenty-seven. Seriously? Floyd? Did your parents _want_ you to get picked on in school?" I could hear Rasul chuckling.

"It's a family name," he responded defensively.

I continued, "and look here… this says that you live in Parhump, Nevada. Were you going to haul your plants all the way back there? That's just west of Las Vegas, right Floyd Grout of Parhump? Sookie, do you have your phone on you?" I looked at Godric and Rasul. We all knew what this meant.

"Yes," and she pulled it out of her pocket.

"Please call your sheriff, and let him know about this."

"With pleasure," and she proceeded to make the call.

"Wait a minute. I haven't done anything, you can't call the law on me," Floyd Grout from Parhump protested.

"Mr. Grout, have you been living under a rock? Because I think maybe you have, if you were stupid enough to come here tonight and try to abduct Miss Stackhouse here. She's been all over the national news as a possible kidnap victim already. Did you know that, Floyd Grout of Parhump, Nevada?"

"He's on his way, Eric," Sookie said.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Let me go," he struggled against the hold that Clovache and Godric had on him. Silly, silly Were. Godric must have tightened his grip on Floyd's arms because he let out a yelp.

"I'd hold still if I were you. It's the best way for you to remain uninjured," I warned.

"You can't do this!" he protested.

"Oh, I think we'll let the police sort this out, Floyd Grout." We only had to wait a few minutes before we heard the sirens. "Well, that was fast."

"I think Sheriff Dearborne is keeping a patrol car near here, since everything has been happening," Sookie said. Good man, I thought.

Just then four police officers rounded the back of the greenhouse, followed by all the reporters who were still posted to this location. Cameras were flashing as the officers took custody of their prisoner. Detective Bellefleur approached us, and I presented him with the materials we had collected off of Floyd Grout of Parhump, and we explained what we had witnessed. The detective took notes on his little pad, and left to accompany the other officers back to the station.

"Did he appear to be here with anyone?" I asked Clovache.

"It didn't appear so, but I know that Batanya is watching Jason."

Before I could suggest going back inside to assure Jason's safety, Sookie threw herself into my arms. I hugged her back and caressed her. It wasn't long until I realized that she was crying. "Sookie, it's all right. You are safe," I told her.

"It's just that I've been so scared for so long now, and he seemed so nice. I try to hide it, but this just brought all those feelings out. I'm sorry, Eric," she sniffled.

I put my hands on either side of her face, "My Sookie, you have been very brave through all of this. I am so proud of you." I kissed her. "I promise you, this will all go away. I don't know exactly when, but I promise you it will." I kissed her again. "Hey, I've got someone I want you to meet." I turned to Rasul. "Sookie, I want you to meet my best friend and my brother, Rasul. Rasul this is my Sookie."

Rasul smiled at her and nodded, "I am so glad to finally meet you in person. You are every bit as lovely as Eric said you were."

Sookie chuckled, "I must look an unholy mess right now. That's very kind of you to say, and I look forward to getting to know you better."

I asked her, "do you need to go back inside?"

"Probably, but I really don't want to. Do you think we can just go inside the house?" she asked.

"Absolutely."

Godric said, "I'm going back inside the greenhouse just to check on everything. I will meet you in the house later." I nodded my head to him.

I kept my arm around Sookie as we walked with Rasul up to the house. When we got to the porch, Sookie automatically invited Rasul inside. Thalia opened the door for us and we passed inside. Adele was sitting on the sofa wringing her hands, and jumped up and hugged Sookie. "Are you alright, dear?" she asked. "Why were the police here again?"

"Someone else was here to kidnap me. Only he wasn't a vampire. Eric caught him in time."

"Well, my stars. Eric you've come to the rescue once again. What would we do without you?" Adele asked.

"Clovache was watching closely. If I hadn't been here, she could have handled everything. I don't want you to worry, Adele. We have a lot of protection in place. I just happened to be here tonight."

"After everything that has happened, how could the queen possibly still be trying to kidnap my grandbabies?"

Rasul and I looked at each other. "Adele, Sookie, I need you to sit down for a moment." They did, and I continued, "this kidnapper tonight was not from the queen." They both gasped.

Sookie whispered, "then … who?"

"Remember last night when I mentioned that I had gotten phone calls talking about how beautiful you are? Do you also remember I said the calls were from people I wanted to kill?" Sookie nodded. "I could tell that you thought I was joking… but I wasn't. I specifically got a call from Felipe de Castro, the king of Nevada. He was very taken with you."

Sookie gasped, "and this kidnapper tonight was from Nevada! Oh my God!"

Rasul added, "plus this kidnapper was much more subtle. I'm afraid that the queen doesn't have a subtle bone in her body."

Adele asked, "I'm sorry young man, but I don't think we've met."

I spoke up, "I'm sorry, Adele, this is my brother Rasul. Rasul, this lovely lady is Sookie's grandmother, Adele Stackhouse."

Rasul walked over to Adele, and took her hand, "It is an extreme pleasure to meet you, ma'am." And then he kissed her hand. Adele both blushed and giggled.

"Well, obviously charm must run in the family," Adele gushed.

I wondered, "did you happen to see any of the news today?"

"No, why, what happened?" Sookie asked.

"Somehow word about the monarchies was leaked to the press, and it didn't come from Eric," Rasul said. Sookie's eyes got wide. Rasul continued, "and they identified the queen of Louisiana as Sophie Ann LeClerq, and reported that law enforcement were closing in on her." Sookie looked at me, as if to say 'how?', and I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Where is Mr. Cataliades? I thought he was here," I asked.

Adele answered, "he said he had an errand to run, but he would be back before the agents got here."

"The FBI and Homeland Security? Weren't they here this morning?" I asked.

"No, they called and rescheduled for tonight," Sookie said. Just then there was a knock on the door, and Thalia answered. It was Mr. Cataliades.

"Eric, so good to see you again, Adele, Sookie."

"Mr. Cataliades, this is my brother Rasul, who we talked about earlier this afternoon."

Mr. C nodded his head, "very pleased to meet you, Rasul." He looked around, "has something happened?"

Adele shook her head, "oh Desmond, someone from Nevada just tried to kidnap Sookie. Eric was able to stop him." I sat down in one of the stuffed chairs, pulled Sookie into my lap, and wrapped my arms around her. Rasul sat in the other chair, and Mr. C sat next to Adele on the sofa.

"So the plot thickens. Nevada is already on the move," Mr. C stated.

"He called me last night to try to get me to back his move into Louisiana," I told him.

"What did you say?" Mr. C asked.

"I told him that as long as the queen was my monarch, that I couldn't comment on something like that."

"Good, safe answer. Well done."

"That's almost exactly what he said. He also commented on how beautiful he thought my girlfriend is, and how lucky I was to, and I quote, acquire her."

"Did he really use the word 'acquire'?" Both Rasul and I nodded our heads. "Hmmm. It appears that he thinks your relationship with Sookie is based on something other than affection."

"But I had just announced on television that I loved Sookie… very much."

"He obviously didn't believe it. Look at it from his point of view, the great Eric Northman is announcing on national TV that he's in love? That was probably hard for most vampires to believe. You know how closeted vampires hold their emotions. He had to figure you were working an angle of some sort. I am sorry, Sookie, but this is how the vampire world works." She nodded in understanding.

"You knew I meant it, didn't you?" I asked her. She looked at me and smiled and nodded again. I couldn't help it, I cuddled her to me tighter.

A few minutes later Jason came running into the house, "What happened? I heard the sirens."

Adele answered, "Oh Jason, someone just tried to kidnap your sister again."

"FUCK!" he shook his head. "Sorry, Gran, but just fuck. Sook, you all right?" he asked. She nodded. "Anyone get hurt?" We all shook our heads. He started pacing, "When is this all going to stop? I haven't even been home in a couple a days. If I ever get my hands on Hadley, she's going to wish she was dead."

"Jason settle down, you will not be killing your cousin," Adele ordered, "but I may tan her hide."

Jason sat on the sofa next to Mr. C and buried his face in his hands. Obviously, the stress of the situation was also taking its toll on him. I was actually surprised that it had taken this long. Both of them had been very strong.

"Where's Godric," I asked.

"I am here," he said as he knocked on the door. Thalia let him in. "I did a check throughout all of the greenhouses and around the perimeter of the property. It appears as if Floyd Grout of Parhump was indeed working alone." He thought for a moment. "Perhaps this was a test.

Jason's head popped up, "a test?"

Godric shrugged, "I think Felipe de Castro was trying to ascertain the level of protection around you two. So he sent a sacrificial Were to find out."

Jason just looked at Godric, "Flippy de who?" Every vampire in the room started chuckling.

Rasul said as he chuckled, "I'm never letting go of that one," he shook his head, "Flippy de who? Thank you for that, Jason."

Jason started chuckling himself and looked at Rasul, "and who the hell are you?"

* * *

 **AN:** I had hoped to have this to you sooner, but I got hit with a heinous inner-ear infection which caused my computer screen to appear like it was rolling. So, two shots and three prescriptions later, I'm feeling better with a whole lot less wobblies in my head.

I first heard the name of the city of Parhump on an episode of CSI, and I liked it so much I decided that someday I would use it…

Please review! It's my only paycheck!

Thanks to all who reviewed since last time as of 4/15/17: VampMad50, Asami's clown, princessspot5, Jamie, autumnchild25, 4 Guests, hummingbirdgrrl, ciasteczko, Perfecta999, Nicolle1977, mycajunlover, pnwer, ljhjelm49, jackie69, ashmo2000, lisabit, Megan, pattyfullwood, Duckbutt, peachesgo, suzymeinen, moonstarlady57

Best wishes for Easter and Passover…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - A New Threat

Once Rasul had well and truly been introduced to practically everyone in the town of Bon Temps, we heard another knock on the door. Thalia once again opened it and in walked FBI and Homeland Security. They came into the living room where we were all seated and looked around. Finally, FBI nodded, "Mr. Northman, Godric. Good to see you again." We both nodded to him in return. He continued, "good evening, my name is Paul Langford, and I'm with the FBI, and this is Tom Pettigrew with Homeland Security." They both produced their credentials and showed them to all in the room.

Adele was the first to speak, "Welcome to my home, gentlemen, I am Adele Stackhouse. This is my grandson, Jason… Jason, could you go fetch a few more chairs from the dining room? I see that you already know Eric and Godric. This is my granddaughter Sookie, Eric's brother Rasul, and this is a dear family friend, Desmond Cataliades. Before we get started would you like some coffee or sweet tea?" Both agents shook their heads. Jason returned with chairs, and everyone was seated. I kept Sookie in my lap. "Thalia, dear, do you want to join us?" Such impeccable southern manners.

Thalia poked her head in the room, "no thank you, Adele, I'll just keep my watch at the door." I nodded at her.

FBI asked, "is she one of those good vampires that you sent for protection?" Internally I smiled at the thought of Thalia being categorized as a good vampire. I simply nodded. He nodded at Rasul, "and this is your… brother?"

I nodded again, "for almost seven hundred years." The non-vampires in the room gasped. I couldn't resist, "can't you tell from the family resemblance?" Everyone chuckled at that.

FBI looked stunned, "I see. Well… uhm… Jason and Sookie, we want to ask you some questions about what has been going on."

"Mr. Langford, is it? I think you should know that there was another kidnap attempt against my Sookie just this evening. But this one wasn't from the queen in New Orleans. This one was from the king in Las Vegas," Adele stated. FBI looked stunned again, and Homeland Security raised his eyebrows.

Homeland Security asked, "what happened?"

I spoke up, "when I walked into The Enchanted Forest tonight, the suspect – I guess you'd say – had isolated Sookie toward the back of the greenhouse. When he saw me walk in he tried to run out the back. We were able to catch him. He had pictures of both Sookie and Jason on him as well as chloroform and handcuffs. He was turned over to the Bon Temps police."

FBI asked, "did he say he was working for this king of Nevada?"

Godric answered, "of course not. But his driver's license showed he lived in Parhump, Nevada, just west of Las Vegas. It might interest you to know that the king of Nevada called Eric last night to express interest in Miss Stackhouse. I think he was testing both Eric's commitment and the level of security that he has provided for the Stackhouses."

FBI asked, "this kidnapper, was he a vampire?"

I answered, "he was not."

Homeland Security asked Jason, "why do you think vampire monarchs want you so badly, Mr. Stackhouse?" Jason just shrugged his shoulders. Homeland Security squinted his eyes at that response and paused to let a long silence hang in the room. "I'm afraid you're going to need to do better than that, Mr. Stackhouse. This story has garnered national news attention, and the attention of top federal law enforcement agencies. Now, I'm going to ask you again, why do they want you and your sister so badly?"

I could tell by the look on Jason's face that he was getting really pissed off. Before he could say anything though, Mr. Cataliades spoke, "Mr. Pettigrew, Jason and Sookie are the victims here, not the criminals. And in my experience it is not up to the victims to provide law enforcement with the motives for crimes committed against them. They have cooperated whole-heartedly with local law enforcement, and I know that they want to do the same with you. I think it would be incumbent upon you to show them more respect. If you can't or won't do that, I'm going to advise them to not answer _any_ of your questions."

After a long silence, Homeland Security asked, "are you an attorney, Mr. Cataliades?" Mr. C nodded his head. "Why would the Stackhouses think they needed an attorney simply to answer questions?"

"I came here to be with them because they are my godchildren. I just happen to also be an attorney, and I thought that at some point that particular skill set might be helpful to them." A long silence followed.

FBI was the first to speak, "when did you first find out about these threats?"

Sookie answered, "Well, first of all Bill Compton moved in next door and kind of started creeping around here, asking a lot of questions about us. Then he came around with that lady-friend of his and tried to get Gran to come out of the house, but she was spooked so she called the police. That was about a week ago?"

"And then?" Homeland Security asked.

Jason picked up the story, "and then Sookie told Eric that she was worried something might happen to Gran, so he sent Thalia out to watch after her… Thalia?" he shouted out to her. She popped her head into the room and gave a small wave, then went back to the door. He continued, "then Bill Compton and his crazy-assed girlfriend, sorry Gran, showed up AGAIN! And that is when Sook got them on a video recording on the phone. They run off again when the police were on their way. Haven't seen them since then. I thought maybe they'd given up until Monday when that crazy vampire dude showed up in the greenhouse. Sookie had called Eric when he was out of town, and he had sent Godric here to help us. Godric was able to take the crazy vampire down. I think you saw that on that other video."

FBI nodded and asked, "so, you don't know what happened to Bill Compton and his accomplice?" Both Jason and Sookie shook their heads. "What do you know about the vampire in the greenhouse?"

Jason answered, "besides the fact that he's bat-shit crazy? Nothing."

Adele ticked her tongue and whispered, "Jason… language…"

Jason looked appropriately chastened and said, "sorry, Gran."

FBI asked, "do you recognize the name Andre Paul?" Jason and Sookie both shook their heads. He continued, "with all due respect, do you have any idea why the queen wants you?"

Jason seemed to mull the question over, "That was a real head scratcher for me until I saw that video of Bill Compton that come out yesterday. The way that nasty queen was talking about turning me and Sook into some kind of prostitutes… near 'bout made me hurl."

Homeland Security followed up, "so, you think that was the only reason she wanted you… To profit from sex and possibly blood from you?"

Jason seemed to think over his answer, "as near as I can reckon. I mean, how'm I supposed to know what's going on in her demented vamp head?"

Another long silence followed, and Homeland Security squinted again. "Mr. Stackhouse, did you go to college?"

That question seemed to take him by surprise. "Yeah, LSU-Alexandria, Associates degree in landscaping and horticulture, why?"

Homeland Security continued, "well, shucks, Jason, ya sure sound down-home cornpone, doncha?" I wanted to grab and throttle the man.

This time it was Jason who squinted his eyes, "y'all making fun o' me?"

Sookie stood up, "Mr. Pettigrew, if you can't do anything but try and insult my brother, I suggest you leave now. If you are trying to imply that he's putting on some kind of, as you say, 'cornpone' act, I suggest you get your Yankee butt up out of here. This is actually how he, and most of the other people in this area speak, and I, for one, am insulted by your insinuations." She paused for a minute, "Further, Mr. Pettigrew, not only was I valedictorian of my high school class, but I also graduated summa cum laude in botany and business from Centenary College, and I'm scheduled to receive my Master's degree in botany from Texas A & M at the end of this semester, and guess what? I speak like that, too. We may not all speak like we're from the hoity-toity east coast like you apparently are, but it doesn't make anything we say less true, valid, or important." I couldn't help but smile at my Sookie's spirit and pride. Not only did she _not_ speak like she was indicating that she did, she spoke better than most people I knew, wherever they were from. In her love and defense of her brother, she was magnificent.

I looked over at Rasul, and he had a look of total awe and adoration, which I knew was his harmless way of admiring my woman. Sookie seemed to think something over for a minute. She started to speak again, and her voice was trembling, "Mr. Langford, Mr. Pettigrew," and tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, but I've been afraid, so very afraid for days now. When Eric got called out of town, I near 'bout panicked. If we knew why this queen was after us, we'd tell you," she paused. "Please, please help us." Jason walked over to his sister in the middle of the room and hugged her. Then she truly began to sob, and Jason just held her. I thought about how much it should be I who was holding her, but I let her brother be there for her. After a while I stood up, and Jason passed Sookie over to me, and I hugged her as I nodded to Jason and took her back to my chair and my lap where she put her arms around my neck and buried her face in the crook of my neck. Jason walked a little away, out of our circle of chairs and just faced the wall. Finally he put one hand against the wall to steady himself and let out a deep sigh.

Again, there was another long silence. Mr. C was the one who broke it, "As you can see, gentlemen, my godchildren have been very disturbed by these events. I ask you to please refrain from any further slurs toward them. They want to cooperate and give you as much information as they can, but they cannot give you answers to questions that they simply do not know the answers to."

Godric asked, "What is happening in New Orleans tonight?"

FBI answered, "we don't know for sure at this moment, but earlier in the day, the president gave the go-ahead for the National Guard to surround Sophie Ann LeClerq's compound." Rasul just looked at me with his eyebrows raised. FBI continued, "we haven't received word if the queen has been captured yet."

Adele just shook her head, "this has been almost too much for my heart. Could you possibly check and see if this horrible woman is behind bars yet?" Well done, Adele, leading the agents in another direction.

FBI answered, "of course, ma'am. Just give me a moment." He rose from his chair and walked to the dining room area to make his phone call. Homeland Security just continued to stare at Jason and Sookie as if trying to figure something out. Was it wrong that I wanted to gouge his eyes out? It had been almost two whole days since I'd made love to my Sookie, and I so wanted to give her the comfort of my body. I wanted to remind her of how very cherished she was.

Eventually, FBI returned to the room, "well, it seems that numerous humans and vampires have emerged from the compound, but so far there has been no sign of the queen. A little while ago, the National Guard broke through the front door, and did a thorough search of the premises, but were unable to locate her."

Godric nodded, "gentlemen, could you excuse me for a moment? Rasul, may I have a word?" Godric and Rasul walked into the empty dining room. They appeared to be talking over something, and Godric walked over to the pad of paper by the phone and returned to the dining room table, and they continued their conversation with Rasul drawing on the pad. Finally, they returned to the living room.

Godric addressed the agents, "it may be helpful to know that Queen Sophie Ann has a hidden chamber within her compound." He pulled a couple sheets off of the pad, "here is the main entrance. Down the hall and to the right is a bookcase with an owl sculpture at the top. If you move that bookcase aside, there is a hidden hallway leading to a downward staircase into a tunnel below the compound. There she has a chamber just for hiding. It is also important to know that she has two vampire bodyguards who are totally dedicated to her. They are her progeny, Saxon warriors Wybert and Sigebert, so I suggest approaching with caution. I would also mention that these two Saxons have never had any choice since the moment of their turning in their roles in the queen's life. You must realize that a maker has absolute control over their progeny's lives. A progeny could not disobey their maker even if they wanted to, such is the nature of vampirism. Try to remember that if you prosecute vampire crimes in the future. At any rate, if your National Guard can get down to these chambers, they should be able to capture the queen."

Homeland Security looked from Godric to Rasul and back again, "and just how is it that you know this?"

Godric smiled, "let's just say that I know someone who used to work in the palace."

Homeland Security stared at Rasul and asked, "and that would be?"

Godric shrugged and answered, "does it matter? We've given you the information you need to capture the queen. Go be heroes."

FBI stood like he was personally going to storm the palace, but he pulled out his phone and began a long text message to someone. Homeland Security remained seated, and finally he asked, "what do you mean, a progeny has no choice but to obey his maker?"

Godric nodded, "a progeny must obey his maker, not out of some sort of loyalty or dedication, etc. They must do it because it is… a biological imperative – I guess you'd call it. If a child tries to disobey the maker their body will be racked with overwhelming and incapacitating pain until they comply. When a new vampire is born, it is the responsibility of the maker to make sure the new vampire is taught everything they need to know to survive. A new vampire is filled with warring sensations, impulses, and urges. In order to be able to control the new one, a maker need only use a maker's command. Once that specific command is used, the child has to obey. To continue to refuse would ultimately lead to the child's true death.

"These two Saxon warriors that Sophie Ann changed into vampire centuries ago have never known vampire life without her. Whatever she commands them to do, they will."

Homeland Security scoffed, "they have no choice but to obey? That's a pretty convenient excuse."

Godric shrugged, "some words have power, Mr. Pettigrew." He seemed to think for a minute, "Let's try a little experiment, shall we? Adele, in a moment I want you to rescind Rasul's invitation to your house, and when I give you the signal, invite him back in. Rasul, remain seated in the chair, and lift your feet off of the floor. Mr. Langford, if Rasul starts to move, I want you to grab his hands and try to keep him here. Is everyone clear on their role in this? Yes?"

"How do I rescind his invitation?"

"Simply say the words, 'Rasul, I rescind your invitation to my house'."

"That's it? That's all I have to say?" Godric nodded.

I whispered to Sookie, "this should be good."

"Is everyone ready?" Godric asked. There were nods all around. Godric then nodded to Adele.

"Rasul, honey, I rescind your invitation to my house." Rasul stayed seated with his feet off the ground as instructed, but his chair started sliding toward the door. Also as instructed, FBI grabbed Rasul's hands and held on. At first FBI's feet slid on the floor, the area rug he was standing on helping him slide with the chair, and then he was pulled down to his knees as Rasul in his chair slid unstoppably toward the door. Rasul was about two feet from the door, with FBI, who had a good fifty pounds on Rasul, straining to keep him in the house. Godric nodded once again to Adele. "Rasul, I invite you into my house." And just like that the chair stopped moving, and FBI crashed onto his backside on the floor. By then, Jason, Sookie, and Mr. C were all chuckling.

FBI just sat on the floor amazed, "damn."

Godric looked at Homeland Security, "the magic of words, Mr. Pettigrew."

"That was so cool. Can I try it?" Jason asked.

"God, Jason, Rasul is not a carnival ride," Sookie laughed and turned to Rasul, "please forgive my brother, sometimes he _can_ be a bonehead." Rasul chuckled and waved her off. I think he may have enjoyed that himself.

FBI picked himself off of the floor and dusted himself off. "Why do those words have magical power?"

Godric shrugged, "why am I here talking to you after more than two millennia of walking this earth? The point is a maker's command is just as powerful and just as magical."

Homeland Security still looked skeptical and said, "Rasul, I rescind your invitation to your house." Obviously nothing happened. He then looked askance at Godric.

"Mr. Pettigrew, this is not your house. Your words hold no magic here," Godric replied.

Homeland Security seemed to accept that and asked, "so as long is your maker is alive you are subject to his commands?"

Godric nodded his head, "yes and no. Once the maker 'releases' the progeny, if he or she ever does, the maker's command works no longer. Again, a feat accomplished by certain words. To be honest, most vampires release their progeny once they are assured of standing on their own, usually about age fifty or one hundred. Some makers never release their children. Sophie Ann is a maker in the latter category, I'm afraid. As far as I know, she has never released any of her progeny – Andre, Wybert, or Sigebert."

Rasul said, "I heard Wybert ask Sophie Ann for some time off once. She punished him so harshly that he never made that mistake again. Those brothers haven't had a day off in decades, maybe ever. They have no real lives outside of their duty to the queen."

I asked, "why did Wybert want some time off?"

Rasul said, "he met a girl from the don… er, human staff. After Sophie Ann punished Wybert, I never saw the girl again."

Sookie asked, "the queen fired her?"

"If she was lucky," I answered. Mr. C cleared his throat and gave Rasul and me a pointed look. I guess we were both just skirting the treason issue. Just in case a miracle happened and Sophie Ann didn't go down. It occurred to me that we were both thinking of her already in the past tense.

"Oh my God, Eric," Sookie just looked at me. "She really is a monster," she whispered. I just raised my eyebrows at her. She threw her arms around my neck and whispered, "thank you for saving us." Just then we heard a three tone chime like a text alert on a cell phone.

FBI pulled his phone from his pocket and read his message. "May we turn on the television? It appears something is happening with that raid on the queen's compound." Adele grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and turned on the television.

"Any particular channel?" she asked.

"Try CNN," FBI responded.

"What number would that be?" she asked.

"Thirty-two on my television," I offered. Sookie looked at me surprised. "What? I've been watching the news quite a lot lately." She giggled.

Adele found the channel and turned up the volume.

"… and you can just see some smoke coming out of one end of the compound. We are told the National Guard used smoke bombs to help empty the building, so we don't know if this smoke we are seeing is from the smoke bombs or some fire that was somehow started inside." The screen held a shot of what looked like chaos happening all around the palace. I noticed out of the corner of my eye as Rasul brought a hand up to his face, covering his mouth. Homeland Security noticed his move as well. By now, Thalia had crossed into the room to watch as well. The broadcast continued…

"We are told that National Guardsman have captured the queen inside some kind of secret chamber, and they will be bringing her out shortly. I should tell the viewers at home that the capture of this compound has so far not resulted in any casualties, human or vampire. Most of those within the compound surrendered voluntarily. It has also been determined that many of those inside the compound had no idea about the deeds of the notorious Sophie Ann LeClerq. They were merely either visiting or house employees, who said… Wait… I believe that this is… Yes, the National Guard are just now bringing alleged kidnapper and terrorist Louisiana Vampire Queen Sophie Ann LeClerq through the front door just now. You can see that they have some kind of constraints on her. We were told earlier that the guardsman had all been issued anti-vampire gear, such as silver nets, silver handcuffs, and bullets for their weapons made of both silver and wood. From the look of her, I'd say that Queen Sophie Ann put up quite a fight."

The broadcaster's voice changed to the female anchor back at the studio, "Yes, Steve, I'd definitely say that Ms. LeClerq looks a little worse for wear." Her voice continued, but all I could see was the hot mess that once was my queen. I guess she still was queen, but I knew she wouldn't be for long. I looked over at Rasul who had sat forward in his chair to watch.

Just then the microphones picked up the sound from outside the palace, "Let me go, you fuckers. Do you have any idea who I am, what I am? Let me go right fucking now, I am the fucking queen you morons, let me go…" she continued screaming as they dragged her to a waiting police van while the crowd that had gathered began cheering and throwing things at her. Her clothes were ripped and her hair was in wild disarray, and just when I thought she couldn't look any worse, someone in the crowd threw some kind of mud ball that landed square on her face at which she just started caterwauling.

"Ho, ho, ho," Rasul let out in both joy and surprise. He and I just looked at each other in silence for a moment, and then we cracked up laughing. Mr. C tried to give us another look, but by then even he was laughing. Rasul held out his hand and I slapped it.

Soon afterward we saw Wybert and Sigebert being led out of the compound. They both had their hands bound behind their backs, but didn't seem to be otherwise constrained. "Those are the Saxon twins I was talking about," Godric said.

Sookie asked, "is that it? Can we now stop worrying about all this?"

I took her face in my hands, "Oh, my love, how I wish I could tell you yes. But we don't know what is going to happen to the queen, and there's still the problem of the Nevada king. If you don't mind, I'm going to leave all your protections in place for now." She let out a sigh and nodded.

Jason asked me, "but do you think the worst of it is over?"

I could only answer, "I hope so, Jason, I truly hope so." He thought that over for a moment and nodded as well.

"Do you think I can at least go home now?" Jason asked.

Godric answered, "Yes, Jason, I think you can go home."

"Thank the Lord, and pass the biscuits," he sighed.

FBI turned to Godric and asked, "what is the name of the king of Nevada?"

"Felipe de Castro," he pronounced very carefully and looked over at Jason who just smirked in return. "He was one of the founders of the city of Las Vegas, and he helped develop it into the gambling mecca it is today. I warn you, gentleman, tell your fellow law enforcement officers this king is not like the Louisiana queen. He is very, very shrewd and not to be underestimated. To do so would be extremely dangerous."

Homeland Security seemed to take in what Godric was saying, and he nodded. FBI said, "we should probably head on down to the sheriff's office and question this latest kidnapping suspect; find out what he knows." Homeland Security nodded again and stood from his chair.

Jason walked over to the window and peeked out through the curtains, "it looks like the last of the news vans has left."

"Maybe they've decided the story is now in New Orleans, or they've gone down to the sheriff's office," Sookie suggested.

Jason nodded at that, "Well, at least I can go home tonight."

"Really, Jason, you would think you had been in prison rather than staying with your grandmother in the room you grew up in," Adele stated with no small amount of chagrin.

Just then there was a loud banging on the front door. Everyone in the living room more or less froze in place at the continued pounding which abruptly stopped for a moment and then started again. The second round of banging was soon accompanied by a voice, "Open this fucking door, you white trash hillbillies. Open this door, or I swear I will burn this fucking house to the ground."

Thalia joined Jason near the window and peaked out, and then she was laughing. "It's Bill Compton and Lorena. They must have gotten out of their … situation."

Sookie gasped, "Oh my God. They probably haven't turned on a TV during this whole situation. I bet they don't know anything that has happened."

Now it was Bill Compton's turn to give it a try, "Sookie, just open this door and come with us. We don't want to hurt you or your grandmother. Just come on out here, please."

Sookie walked over to the door and shouted through it, "you still want to take me to your queen?"

There was a slight pause before Bill answered trying to make his voice sound as soothing as he could, "Sookie, you will be going there one way or another; you really have no choice in the matter. If you go with me, we can make the trip just as pleasant as possible. Please make this easier on yourself and come on out."

Sookie turned to look at us with a 'are you kidding me' expression on her face. While she and Bill were talking through the door, Godric and Thalia had slipped out the back door, as FBI and Homeland Security planned to go to the door. It turns out they were wearing some kind of new contact lens that the government had developed for their agents to wear to prevent glamouring. I breathed an internal sigh of relief that I hadn't tried to glamour them the other night in my office as I had wanted to. Especially when Homeland Security had begun his musings on what Jason and Sookie might be other than human. Rasul and I gathered behind the curtains of the living room window to watch the show that was about to unfold.

When everything was set, Sookie opened the door, "Bill, and Lorena isn't it? I've got a couple people I'd like for you to meet. Hold on just a second." She walked out of the doorway to make room for FBI and Homeland Security.

Bill got a puzzled look on his face, "Who the hell are you?"

FBI spoke, "Mr. Compton, I am Special Agent Paul Langford of the FBI, and this is Special Agent Tom Pettigrew of Homeland Security." In perfectly choreographed synchronization they flashed their credentials.

After his initial shock, Bill did exactly what I knew he would, "Agents, look at me. You want to forget all about my being here. You want to get Sookie Stackhouse and hand her over to me. You want to do that don't you, agents?"

"No, Mr. Compton, we don't want to do that. We don't want to do that at all. You've just added trying to glamour federal agents to the long, long list of charges pending against you. You will surrender yourself for arrest right this minute, and you and your potty-mouthed girlfriend will go with us to jail. You will not pass go, and you will not collect two hundred dollars." Homeland Security chuckled at FBI's joke. One that I actually got myself. It was then that I noticed the dried mud all over both Bill and Lorena, who also had leaves and twigs snarled in her hair, and both their clothes were in shreds.

Again, Lorena didn't disappoint, "why don't you come on out here and arrest us? Real brave inside a house, but let's see how you do out in the open." Just as she was finishing her sentence she was grabbed from behind by Thalia as Godric grabbed Bill Compton. They were both thrown face down onto the porch while FBI and Homeland Security placed what were presumably silver handcuffs on them.

FBI said, "you have the right to remain silent, and I suggest you use it…"

Homeland Security said, "if you give up your right to remain silent, anything you say can, and believe me, _will_ be used against you."

FBI continued, "you have the right to an attorney, though who would represent you boggles my mind…"

Homeland Security picked it up, "if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?"

At that Lorena started using language that would make me blush if I could. Homeland Security continued, "it was a simple yes or no question." He grabbed Lorena by the hair on the back of head and pulled her face up off of the floor of the porch and spoke to her as if she were dimwitted, "do… you… understand… these… rights?" Lorena continued her tirade, so he used her forehead like a door-knocker three times on the porch floor and at that she finally shut up, "hello, anyone home? Do you understand these rights?"

Even though she was still growling, she grudgingly and through gritted teeth answered, "yes."

"Mr. Compton, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," he responded and threw her face, teeth and nose first, back into the porch floor before he released his hold on her hair. Damn, Homeland Security don't play.

FBI asked Thalia and Godric, "can you guys hold them for a few moments while I get our car 'vampire-ready'?" They both nodded, and he took off to their car. Sookie and Jason wandered out onto the edge of the porch.

Homeland Security turned to them, "Jason, Sookie, as soon as we get these two secured, we're going to question the guy from Nevada who tried to kidnap you tonight. We'll get to the bottom of that, too." They both nodded to him, and Sookie turned and went back into the house.

Jason walked down into the yard toward his car then turned back toward the house, "it's alright if I go home, right?"

Homeland Security gave him an actual smile, "Absolutely, have a nice night, Jason."

"Good night." Jason hopped into his truck and drove away.

Once FBI had gotten the car ready, Thalia and Godric loaded their prisoners into the back seat, and the agents drove away as well. Then the two helpful vampires came back into the house. When she came in, Sookie had walked to the front of the unlit fireplace facing away from everyone else in the room. She hadn't moved since she got there.

"Well, that's a great relief. Maybe this will all be over soon," Adele said. She turned around toward where Sookie was standing, "isn't that great news, Sookie?"

Sookie slowly turned around to face us, and she looked as white as a sheet. "The agent from Homeland Security… he's determined to find out what Jason and I are. He's thinking up some kind of deal to offer Bill Compton to get him to tell him." She paused for a moment, "and if Bill doesn't know or won't say, he's preparing to offer a deal to the queen to tell him."

* * *

 **AN: Review, REVIEW,** **REVIEW!** It's my only paycheck!

I will be going out of town for my job, day after tomorrow, and I will be gone for almost a week. I'm taking my laptop with me, but I don't know how much free time I'm going to have. So... if the next chapter takes a little longer than usual, please be patient. And review damnit!

Thanks to all who reviewed since the last posting, as of 4/20/17: princessspot5, Asami's clown, Duckbutt, VampMad50, hummingbirdgrrl, 2 Guests, peachesgo, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, jackie69, mycajunlover, ciasteczko, Nicolle1977, ashmo2000, ljhjelm49, autumnchild25, jadajuice, Megan

Special thanks to lila94 for becoming my official 100th Follower! Thanks ever so…


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – The Smart Game

We sat in silence for a long while. It was Rasul who finally spoke, "I don't mean to pry, but exactly what are you so afraid of?"

I looked at Sookie; this was her secret to tell or not. She knew that if I brought Rasul here, called him my brother, that I must trust him, but even so she looked to me for guidance on this, and I nodded. She said, "Jason and I are fairies. Well, part fairies actually."

Rasul nodded in acknowledgement, "I ascertained as much when Eric told me the name of your great-grandfather back in New Orleans." He seemed to mull something over for a moment before he said, "So, you're afraid that Sophie Ann will tell this agent in order to cut a deal for herself?" Sookie nodded, and Rasul's eyes squinted as he thought over this idea. "Well, even if she does, what's the worst that can happen? This agent first has to believe that fairies _could_ exist, and then, if he did, how would he possibly prove it?" He looked around at us for a moment before he added, "there's more, isn't there?"

Sookie nodded and looked at me again, and again I nodded. "In addition to having supernatural green thumbs, I'm a telepath, and Jason is an empath."

Rasul remained silent for a long time. Finally, all he could whisper was, "Holy goats." He laughed at himself, "so that's how you knew exactly what that agent was thinking. Ermm… can you hear vampires?"

Sookie shook her head, "no, I can't, but apparently Jason can influence their emotions."

Godric asked, "he can?"

"Oh, yes, I can personally attest to that," I chimed in. At that admission, I saw a small smile finally appear on Sookie's face. I held out my hand to her, and she came over and re-joined me on my lap.

Mr. C joined in the conversation, "Rasul makes a good point. No one in the human world knows about the existence of fairies beyond mythology. Of course a few years ago, the same thing was true about vampires. However, the agent would have to prove the veracity of any such statements, up to and including any statements about telepathy or empathy."

Godric walked into our circle and took one of the chairs that the agents had sat in, "I suspect that Sookie and Jason may be subjected to some kind of test of their abilities in the near future, and it will no doubt come from something quite unexpected. It would be the only way for Agent Pettigrew to prove any claims about them. It is too bad that you can't take Sookie on a … vacation for a little while."

"I don't understand," Adele exclaimed, "even if Jason and Sookie are fairies who have these powers, what difference does that make to the agent? They've broken no laws; there is nothing to arrest them for. Why are we so worried then?"

"Gran, if they find out about us, they may either see us as potential weapons they can use, or potential threats. Either way isn't good for Jason and me."

"But Sookie, honey, you are Americans. You have rights. They can't just do this to you, can they Desmond?"

"I'm going to do everything I can, Adele, to make sure their rights are preserved. However, we don't know what lengths the government will go to at this point," Mr. C answered. "Right now, I suggest that Sookie and Jason just go on about their lives as if they have nothing to hide."

"Then that's just what we'll do. I guess there's not anything else we _can_ do," Sookie said as she stood up and looked at me. She extended her hand, "walk with me?"

I stood and took her hand, "love to, excuse us please." And we walked out the front door. We walked in silence for a bit, "are you OK?" I asked.

"Not really, but there's nothing I can do about that agent. So… I guess I just go with the flow for now."

"I've been thinking about something that may help. It's not a solution, but it might be an additional layer of protection. Do you remember when we talked about bonding?"

"Yes, but Eric, don't you think it's too soon for that?"

"I actually don't, but that wasn't what I was going to suggest."

She looked amazed, "you don't think it's too early to talk about forever together, Eric?"

"No, Sookie, I don't. I've waited for over a thousand years to feel what I feel for you. I'm pretty sure it's never going away," I chuckled. "But I understand if you need a little more time to be sure. What I was going to suggest is a simple blood exchange. Remember it takes three exchanges to create a bond, so this doesn't really force any long-term commitment on either of us. However, with a blood exchange, I will be able to feel you and your emotions. So if you were to get really afraid or threatened, I would know and be able to come to you or send help. Plus…"

"Plus what?"

"Plus, no matter where you went, I would be able to find you."

"So, this would act like a Sookie-GPS for you?" she giggled.

I smiled back, "exactly."

"OK, it doesn't sound so bad. What haven't you told me?"

"There are side effects of taking a vampire's blood."

"Side effects, eh? Such as…"

"Well, you'll be more attracted to me…"

"Not really possible, next?"

I smiled again, "you'll dream about me."

"Already do, next?"

"You might become more… uhmm… horny for me."

She giggled, "again, not really possible to be much more horny for you than I am now." I couldn't help the really big smile on my face. "Don't gloat, Mr. Sex-on-a-stick." At that I really laughed.

"Also, your senses will be sharper, your hair brighter, and you will look and feel all over healthier."

"Oh no! That sounds totally unacceptable. Who wants to look better and feel better? That's just a deal-killer right there." Gods, but she was adorable when she was sassy. "Seriously, this sounds like something I could go with. When or where do you want to do this?"

"Hmmm… Wrap your legs around my waist," I said as I picked her up. She did so, "Hold on tight," I instructed her as I lifted off the ground. She made the cutest squeaking sound when she realized we were rising in the air.

"You can fly!"

"What? No way… Are you sure?" I teased. I continued to slowly rise into the sky. "Let's take a look around town, shall we?"

"We shall," she giggled. We flew over to the Sheriff's office. The news vans were indeed parked outside.

"Look, there's the car the agents were driving. They must have taken Bill and Lorena inside," I pointed out.

"I don't think they have a light-tight jail cell in there," Sookie added.

"You said they got anti-vampire gear from Shreveport, right?" She nodded. "Maybe they got some coffins for incarceration purposes. They wouldn't need light-tight cells then."

"That makes sense. Ah well, too bad for Bill and Lorena. They're so dumb, I almost feel kind of sorry for them." There was a brief silence that followed that statement before we both started laughing. "I mean, not really, but they're just so darn pathetic as kidnappers. Their ineptitude kind of reminds me of those burglars from _Home Alone._ " I'd actually seen that movie and laughed again with her. "Maybe that's what I should do… rig up all kinds of booby traps around the house and business. Set up a Rube Goldberg bowling ball contraption. At least we could get a good laugh at the expense of all these would-be kidnappers."

We lifted again into the night and flew over to Merlotte's. Sookie pointed out Jason's truck. "Apparently he wasn't all that anxious to get home. More likely he was just anxious to get laid. He's so fairy, in spite of secretly hating that designation, that his fairy libido rules all." She seemed to think for a moment, "I really feel sorry for Batanya, his guard. She has to witness all of his sexual tomfoolery."

I chuckled for a moment, "apparently that won't bother Batanya."

"I'm curious. How does this whole Britlingen thing work? I mean, Batanya made it quite clear that Jason's exploits would have no effect on her. Does that mean she's a same-sex kind of gal? If so, is she going to want to have some free time to explore that? I guess I don't quite get the Britlingen concept, since they always seem to be on duty, so to speak."

"I don't know the answer to that. I just know that when you hire a Britlingen, they are _always_ on duty. I don't know when or if they get breaks from that. I would assume they don't. You know that Clovache was on duty tonight during everything that happened, right? She just wasn't always visible, especially to the government agents." I thought a little about that, "my guess is that she's on break right now because she knows you are under my protection at the moment. Plus, I don't think she can fly."

"That means that Batanya is down there in that greasy bar watching over Jason while he gets his tomcat on, right?"

"She'd better be," I answered. "She probably gets a break when he sleeps. However, you must remember that Britlingens are also supernatural creatures. They may not need rest."

"I like this flying thing. I especially like holding on to you like this," she tilted her head to the side. "So, are we going to do this blood exchange up in the air?"

"Why not? I thought that might be fun. Let me find us a place," I said as I flew toward a small forest on the outskirts of Bon Temps. "This looks like a good place. Are you ready?"

"How am I going to do this?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a folded knife which I opened, and she gasped. "Don't worry, I'm not going to cut you," I chuckled. "I have fangs for that. But I'm going to make a small slice on my neck, and you'll need to latch on right away because the wound will close up pretty quickly. OK?" Her eyes were wide with what looked like fear as she nodded. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Sookie. I've got you." She smiled up at me with trust and my heart sang. I then made my slice, and she quickly placed her mouth on the cut and drew my blood into her mouth. I felt my blood entering her body as I slid my fangs into her neck.

As we drank from each other, I very slowly started spinning us in the sky and tightened my hold on Sookie. I felt myself become more and more aroused with each pull of my blood that Sookie took into herself. When I felt her lick my neck to clean it up, I presumed, I healed the fang marks from her neck as well. Her head rolled back, and her eyes were closed in bliss.

"Wow, that didn't taste at all like I thought it would," she whispered.

"What did you think it would taste like?" I asked.

"I don't know really … like blood I guess, but it was so much more. Kind of chocolatey. Have you ever even tasted chocolate?"

"I haven't. I don't think it had been invented or discovered or whatever when I was alive. I've heard it's really good," I answered.

"Really good? No, no, no a hamburger can be really good. Spaghetti can be really good. Chocolate is in a goodness category all of its own."

"So I taste like that to you? That's fair I guess, since you taste like ambrosia to me." She smiled at my declaration. And I took that opportunity to kiss her. Kissing her this time was very different because I could now feel how much she enjoyed it. In fact, I could feel her arousal, and it only increased my own.

"Sookie, I want to make love to you so much right now," I whispered as we broke the kiss.

"So do I, Eric, but I don't think we can do that up here in the sky," she giggled. "Plus it's getting really late. I should probably get home."

"Oh I bet we could find a way," I smirked. "But I'll get you home. Do you have an evening gown?"

At that question she just giggled. I must have looked confused since I didn't think that was a particularly funny question. Finally, she answered, "Wow, another whiplash inducing subject change. Eric, I was in the Miss Louisiana pageant a few years back and the Miss Renard Parish pageant before that. I actually have five evening gowns. Why?"

"Ah, I see. I'm asking because this Saturday night the foundation that raises money for the Caddo Parish Children's Hospital is having their annual fundraising ball, and I happen to have two tickets. Would you care to accompany me?"

She looked at me in wonder, "you support that charity?"

"Actually, I support a lot of charities. I'm all for helping the community in which I live. Plus, they're good tax write-offs. I especially support children's charities and those that have a worthwhile environmental focus."

"You're concerned about the environment?"

"I'm very concerned about it. Vampires have theoretical eternity, so we tend to look at the long game. If the environment continues to worsen, that can have devastating long-term repercussions." She gave me another breath-taking smile. "So, are you up for the ball this Saturday?"

"I'd love to go to the ball with you Mr. Northman, but do you think it'll be OK with all that's been happening? All of this publicity?"

"Remember, you are going to go on about your life normally. This just fits in with that plan, don't you think?"

"Oh yes, because I normally go to charity balls all the time! Of course," she laughed as we softly set down on her front lawn.

"And Sookie, plan to stay the night."

"Why, Mr. Northman, are you asking me to a sleep-over?" she giggled.

I smiled, "You can call it whatever you like, just don't expect to braid my hair," she really giggled at that. "Actually, I want to make love to you in a bed for once. Well, not just once, but you get the idea," I waggled my eyebrows at her, making her laugh some more. I held her face in my hands and kissed her again. I loved feeling how much she liked my kisses. I'd never given my blood to anyone but my child so this was a whole new experience for me. The best of all was the love for me that I could feel coming from her; it was so enormous. "I love you, my Sookie," I said when I sensed she needed air.

"And I love you, my Eric." The front door opened, and Rasul and Godric walked out.

"I'll see you Saturday at eight thirty, OK?" I took her hand to walk her to the porch. She said her goodbyes to Rasul and Godric, and they walked to my SUV. I took one more opportunity to kiss her good night, then kissed her on her forehead as well before turning to go to my car. As I got to the door, she was still standing on the porch, just like the last time, and we waved. I got in, and she finally went inside, and I let out an involuntary sigh which caused Rasul and Godric to both start chuckling. "Just shut up," I barked which caused them to start laughing even harder.

Just then, my phone rang. "Northman," I answered. It was Pam.

"Eric, you need to get to Fangtasia as soon as possible; we have guests."

"I'm just leaving Bon Temps now. I should be there in half an hour or so. Who is asking for me?"

"It's… " and the phone was apparently snatched from her hand.

"Northman, this is Nan Flanagan. Get your ass here now!" she barked.

"And a pleasant good evening to you, too, Ms. Flanagan. As I just told Pamela before we were so rudely interrupted, I'm on my way and should be there in about half an hour."

"HALF AN HOUR? Where the hell are you?"

"Well, apparently Nan, I'm half an hour away from you. See you then, Nan," and I hung up on her. It was none of her business where I was, rude bitch.

Rasul looked at me with one eyebrow raised, "and the plot thickens."

"It boggles the mind that someone with such complete lack of social graces could have been made the spokesperson for all vampires." I shook my head. "What do you think her problem is?"

Godric answered, "It seems she wants to know from you what is going on. It's as Rasul observed earlier tonight, the AVL is playing catch-up, and that must make our Ms. Flanagan quite uncomfortable. Be prepared for a full-on assault on her part."

I mulled Godric's words, "I've done nothing wrong. Why attack me?"

Godric smiled, "She's as you said, a bitch. She's not currently in control of this situation, so she's likely to strike out at you to get that control." I looked him quizzically. "I didn't say her attack would be logical or make sense. Just remember that you've done nothing wrong. Try not to let her put you on the defensive, although I'm pretty sure her game will be to try and blame you for something."

I snorted at the thought. That bitch better be careful, or she better be backed by an army if she thinks she's going to ride roughshod over me and mine. Among the three of us, she will be facing almost four thousand combined years of vampire power. "How old is Nan?"

"I think she's maybe just a little bit older than Rasul," Godric answered.

"So, she's only powerful because she's backed by the AVL," Rasul observed.

We drove the rest of the way to Fangtasia in silence. When we pulled up to the club I noticed a limousine and two large dark vans parked in the otherwise empty parking lot. "Are you kidding me? The bitch closed down my club? With all the publicity we've been getting, we would have been packed. Fucking bitch!"

"Calm yourself, Eric," Godric advised. "I would say that this is her first salvo into unsettling you. Don't fall for it."

He was right, of course. I took a moment, closed my eyes, and centered my feelings. This was the first battle in what might be a long, long war. I needed to be at the top of my game. When I felt sufficiently calm, I opened my car door and got out. Rasul and Godric joined me as I walked into my club. Once inside, I noticed about a dozen guards dressed as like stormtroopers from some inter-galactic sci-fi movie spaced out throughout the interior of the club. There was no staff on hand, not even vampire staff. Pam was waiting for me at a table near the dance floor. When she saw me she rose and joined me.

"She's in your office waiting for you," she told me. I nodded and by gesture invited her to join us as we walked to my office. Once we entered, I noticed that _SHE_ was seated behind my desk as if she owned the place. Well, this could not stand. I would have to get her out of my chair and teach her her place in my universe.

"Ms. Flanagan," I nodded and walked right up to her crowding her space behind my desk. She seemed reluctant to move so I moved in closer. My height made her bend back to look me in my face.

She nodded, "Northman, please have a seat," and she gestured to a chair in front of the desk.

"I would, but MY chair in MY office is currently occupied." She bent her head back to look at me again. Then she looked at Rasul, Pamela, and finally Godric who had accompanied me into my office. "Ms. Flanagan," I said as I gestured toward the chair in front of my desk. She looked at the guard standing against the far wall of my office, as if he could challenge the four thousand plus years of other vampires represented in the room. She slowly, reluctantly stood from my chair. I moved out of the way so that she could pass through and go to a chair in front of the desk. First power play – Eric-one, Nan-zero.

I sat down and put my feet up on the corner of the desk, tapped a couple keys on my computer keyboard, and laced my fingers together across my stomach. Nan finally found the chair in front of the desk and sat. Rasul and Pamela sat on the sofa, and Godric stood against the wall to my left with his arms crossed. I looked at Nan and asked, "well, I am here as requested, so, what can I do for you Ms. Flanagan?"

She huffed and said, "I demand an explanation." She demanded? What the hell? I decided I was going to make her work for it and assumed an expression of confusion.

"An explanation of what, exactly?"

"Don't play coy with me, Northman. You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, Flanagan, because I have no earthly idea what you are talking about." I raised one eyebrow in question. I'd be godsdamned if I would start offering excuses for non-specific accusations."

"So, this how you want to play it, Northman? And it's _Ms._ Flanagan," she demanded.

"And it's _Mr._ Northman, _Ms_. Flanagan. I'm not playing anything. Tell me what you want an explanation for, and I'll happily comply," I answered.

She looked at me through slitted eyes, "what is going on in your state, you cretin?"

Really? That was as specific as she was going to get? Ah well, I could work with that, "I believe the New Orleans Saints got two great running backs in the latest NFL draft. The congressman from Ville Platte just gave a verbal approval of the Vampire Rights Amendment in a press conference, and I believe that Lake Charles is getting ready for their annual Contraband Days celebration. They really celebrate their pirates, especially Jean LaFitte who worked out of their area a couple centuries ago." I settled back into my chair with a smirk on my face.

She just looked at me for a moment before asking, "are you purposely being obtuse, Mr. Northman?"

I just stared right back her, "are you purposely being incredibly non-specific, Ms. Flanagan?" Out of my periphery I noticed smirks on the faces of all three of my allies while I assumed a visage of total innocence. Your move, Nan.

After an overly long pause, Nan asked, "what is going on with your queen and these siblings in your area?"

Finally. I answered, "I'm not exactly sure about what is going on with the queen. But one of the subjects of her apparent kidnap attempts is my beloved, Sookie Stackhouse. She called me for help when I was out of town, at the queen's behest I might add, and I asked my friend Godric to help protect her and her brother. I told the media this, and now I'm telling you this."

"So, you had no idea what the queen was up to?"

"Other than what has been recently reported in the news? No."

"What's special about these two humans?"

"What's special about my beloved, Sookie? How do I start? Her smile, her intelligence, her beauty, her wit…"

"No, for Christ's sake, what would be special enough for Sophie Ann to want them?" Second power play – Eric-two, Nan-zero.

"That, Ms. Flanagan, is something you would have to ask Sophie Ann. I just know that Sookie called for help, and I answered, without knowing who was involved in the threats against her." I thought for a moment, "as a matter of fact, Ms. Flanagan, someone asked me this very evening where the AVL has been in all of this. So I pose that question to you. Where the hell have you been during all this debacle?" I'd always been taught that the best defense was a good offense.

Nan fidgeted under the question, "we had no idea about any of this. How could we have known?"

"But days after the news has broken on all of this, you are just _now_ asking questions? Days, Ms. Flanagan, days; not hours, Ms. Flanagan, DAYS. What has the AVL been doing all this time? Twiddling their thumbs waiting to see where the shit would land? And then you roll into Shreveport, shut down my club on what was sure to be a very, very profitable night – especially in light of all the positive publicity this situation has garnered me and mine, and presume to interrogate me?" Power play score – Eric-three, Nan-zero.

"Watch you tone, Mr. Northman. I would hate to report to The Authority that you were uncooperative."

Oh no, she didn't just threaten me. "Oh, Nan, Nan, Nan… Can I call you Nan? Have you learned nothing in the last few days? You go ahead and tell The Authority whatever you like. And then I'll tell them what really happened."

She smiled that reptilian smile of hers, "and who do you think they are going to believe, Northman? You? Or me, the faithful voice of vampires in America? I could tell them anything I like, and they could order the true death for you, so you better cut the crap and get on board, you fucker."

"I see. Gee whiz, Flanagan, you've really scared me. I guess I'd better straighten up and fly right, eh?"

"You're sarcasm will only encourage me to make sure you pay for the way you are treating me."

I tilted my head to the side, "Really? Hold on…" I reached my hand over and turned the screen of my computer so that she could see it. Then I tapped a few more keys, and there was Nan in living, well undead, color and in all her reptilian glory on the screen.

"and who do you think they are going to believe, Northman? You? Or me, the faithful voice of vampires in America? I could tell them anything I like, and they could order the true death for you, so you better cut the crap and get on board, you fucker."

Power play score – Eric-four, Nan-zero. The shocked look on her face was priceless, and she was eyeing my computer like she was about five seconds away from destroying it. "Don't bother destroying or trying to confiscate my computer, Flanagan. This has been recorded to the cloud. You've heard of the cloud, surely? Now where were we? Ah yes, you were threatening to lie to The Authority about what a bad vampire I've been, when, in fact, I'm the vampire who has been cast as the good guy, the hero, in this little drama. I'm the vampire who came to the aid of his distressed and scared girlfriend to help save her from wicked vampires. I'm the vampire who admitted on national television that he was in love with a poor, defenseless human. I'm the vampire that all America **loves** right now. So, I'm thinking you're the one who needs, as you said, to get on board." I paused for a moment, "we need to salvage the public image of vampires right now. I appreciate that you've got a tough task in this, but for the love of the gods, get you head out of your ass, and join me as I've been trying to do as much as I can to make America believe that all vampires aren't bad. Hell, my girlfriend, the victim of numerous attempts of kidnapping by _vampires_ , said in a nationally televised press conference that she still believes in the VRA. You've got allies all around you. Stop treating them as enemies. Stop being the cretin, and stop treating them like crap."

Power play score – Eric – game, set, and match. I took a quick glance at the stormtrooper stationed against the back wall, and he had a little smirk on his face. I got the feeling that Nan Flanagan was probably a rude bitch to everyone. "The ball's in your court, Ms. Flanagan. Are you going to play the smart game _with_ me, or the power trip game _against_ me?" I put my elbows on my desk and clasped my hands together waiting for her answer. She sat in silence for a long time, no doubt afraid now that she knew she was being recorded.

"Ms. Flanagan, let me help you. I don't want us to be enemies in this. I just want to make sure my beloved is safe," I paused. "Have you seen any of the television coverage on this?" She shook her head. "How is that possible? It's been on for days."

"I've been visiting with different elected officials all over the country to lobby for the VRA. I just got the call on this today."

"I see. Well, everything is probably on youtube by now. Let me find them and explain the sequence of events for you. The videos are relatively short, as are the press interviews." I then proceeded to explain the situation to her in detail as I cued up the videos, including the video of the agents in front of the Shreveport police station, on youtube for her to watch, and then I turned my screen toward her once again so she could watch them. After everything had played for her Nan sat in silence again.

She finally spoke, "Well, it appears that I owe you an apology, Mr. Northman. I'd only heard there were public kidnapping attempts on humans by vampires in Louisiana, and that you were somehow involved. Thank you for all that you've done to help the situation," she paused, and I thought about how much it must have cost her ego to utter those sentences. I nodded to her.

Godric stepped forward, "what these videos did not show you, was that there were two more attempted kidnappings tonight. First from a Were from Nevada, and then later there was another attempt from Bill Compton and Lorena Ball, who had the misfortune to try their kidnapping when agents from the FBI and Homeland Security were in the house questioning the Stackhouse siblings. They were all arrested." The corners of Nan's lips twitched up, and it was obvious that she was fighting laughing. "In addition," Godric continued, "the president of the United States approved the use of the National Guard to arrest Sophie Ann down in New Orleans, and the news cameras caught her being dragged out of her palace compound screaming all the way. She only shut up when a bystander pelted her in the face with what was presumably a mud ball."

By now Nan's lips were quivering with the strain of fighting back her laughter until she snorted and just let herself go into full-on guffawing. "Oh God, I hope that's on youtube somewhere." When she finally collected herself she asked, "Nevada, eh? Do you think de Castro was involved?"

"He called me last night to compliment me on my beautiful girlfriend. I hardly think it was a coincidence that the Were kidnapper from Parhump, Nevada showed up tonight.

Nan seemed to mull something over for a minute. "I wasn't told about the leak of the vampire infrastructure to the media. I will need to confer with the AVL about how best to respond to that, and also to find out what, if any, contact other monarchs have made with them and The Authority." She stood up, pulled a card out of her pocket, and handed it to me. "Keep me informed if anything else I should know about occurs." She nodded her head to me and to Godric, and walked to the door. "Mr. Northman, I hope we can work together pleasantly in the future. But you should know, whatever makes these Stackhouse siblings so special, I will get to the bottom of it." And with that dire proclamation, she and her stormtrooper marched out of my office.

The four of us were silent for a long time. Pamela was the first to break the quiet, "Well, she may be able to sound civil, but she's still up to some fuckery or another."

"Indeed," Godric agreed. Either I must have looked upset, or Godric felt my distress through our maker/child bond because he added, "do not worry, Eric. We will continue to protect your Sookie and her family."

Rasul added, "now I can help as well." He looked at all of us, "It's not like I have anything else to do." We all smiled at that.

"Pamela, will you make sure the club is locked up; I don't want anyone else wandering in here tonight."

Pam had no sooner stood up then there was a knock on my office door. What now? "Enter."

The door swung open, and in walked the last person on earth I wanted to see, "Good evening, Viking."

I shook my head. Could this night get any worse? "Good evening, Victor. What brings you to Louisiana?"

* * *

 **AN: Review, review, review; it's my only paycheck!**

Thank you for patiently waiting for this chapter. My trip was very successful, but it didn't leave me any time to write, as I suspected it might not.

Many, many thanks to all who reviewed since the last chapter, as of 5/2/17: ljhjelm49, princessspot5, Jadajuice, MsNorthman, Asami's clown, VampMad50, peachesgo, hummingbirdgrrl, jackie69, autumnchild25, Alison actually, Duckbutt, tanseynz, Guest, Perfecta999, ashmo2000, ciasteczko, suzymeinen, Jfozz

Especially thank you to princessspot5 who not only reviews, but follows up with thoughtful PM's as well.

All of you are so, so appreciated and make me want to write more and faster. Thanks again.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - The Shopping Chapter

 **AN:** I had a heck of a time posting Chapter 18; in fact, I had to post and unpost and repost it about four or five times. You may not have gotten your usual notice that it was up – if you get such a notice, so if you didn't, you should go back and read it before you read this chapter. You don't want to miss the shenanigans with Nan Flanagan. Just saying… And now, Chapter 19:

* * *

Victor sauntered in and looked around. He looked at Rasul sitting on the sofa, and Pamela standing beside it. Then he looked at Godric and tilted his head to the side and squinted. "Godric, the Gaul. What are you doing here?"

Godric just stared back at him for a moment before he said, "I believe that Sheriff Northman just asked you the same question."

"And I'm still waiting for an answer," I added.

Victor pulled out one of the chairs in front of my desk and sat. He crossed one leg over the other and picked an imaginary piece of lint off of his trousers and then adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. "I'm just passing through the area. So much interesting news is coming out of your area, Viking." I could feel Godric sending me calm through our maker/child bond. Calm and caution. "And by news, I mean literally on the news… as in television and newspapers. I just wanted to see for myself what was so exciting here in northern Louisiana."

"So… you're what? Just wandering around the country looking for excitement? And that brought you here?" I asked. He nodded. "Victor, I have a very strong bullshit detector, and right now it's reading that as a false. Try again."

Victor just smiled that smarmy smile of his, chuckled, and raised his hands in mock surrender, "all right, all right… The boy and girl… Why did Sophie Ann want them? She told King Felipe she was gathering some valuable assets in northern Louisiana, and then all hell breaks loose in your area. They must be something very special to have you protecting them. So, I have to wonder, what are they?"

I just stared at him with a neutral expression on my face. He continued, "I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering. I know King Felipe is curious; surely other monarchs are as well. So, Viking, tell me. What. Are. They?"

Without blinking I answered, "off limits. That's what they are." We stared at each other. For a long time. For a long, long time.

Finally, Victor sighed, "Well, I'll find out one way or another; we were just hoping you would be more cooperative."

"We?" Godric asked raising a single eyebrow.

Victor turned in his chair to look directly at Godric, "and why did you say you were here?"

"I didn't," he answered.

Without taking his eyes off of Godric, Victor continued, "And Rasul, glad to see you made it out of Sophie Ann's court unscathed and remarkably unarrested. Or do the authorities just not know where to find you? You seem to be the only high ranking vampire of her court who is still roaming free. I do so hope no one… what is the expression?... rats you out." Rasul narrowed his eyes, but otherwise remained silent at Victor's implied threat.

We all heard when Pam muttered under her breath, "well, you would know all about rats, I'm sure." My lips twitched involuntarily.

"Pamela…" I chastised without much feeling, and she rolled her eyes.

Victor finally broke his eye contact with Godric, as if he could intimidate him, and turned to look over at Pamela who still stood by the sofa. "Ah, Eric, your progeny is well-suited to the cheap and tawdry look of pseudo-Hollywood vampires. It rather fits her."

Pamela just replied in a deadpan drone, "oh no, oh no, I'm so wounded and insulted… boo and also hoo." At that Rasul and I couldn't help but chuckle while Victor narrowed his eyes at her.

"Viking, you might want to instruct your child about respecting her betters," Victor sneered.

"Oh, but Victor, I have taught her that; in fact, spent decades teaching her that. She knows _absolutely_ to respect her betters… when she meets them." I met his eye-contact unflinchingly.

"Well… I see how it is here. So much for the myth of southern hospitality. I will be sure to share the experience of your… hospitality…" Victor threatened.

"With whom?" Godric asked.

Victor just shook his head and stood. "You aren't the only one who can avoid answering questions, Gaul." He still didn't get it.

Godric decided to make sure he got it; Godric rushed him, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the door of my office. "I asked you a question, and I know for a fact that I am your better, so you better fucking answer. With… whom… are… you… going… to… share… this… experience?"

Victor remained obstinate, "you don't even live in this area; why do you care?" he choked out.

Godric clenched his jaw as he answered, "do **not** presume to know where I live, what I do, or to whom I will give my allegiance. You are by reputation a smart vampire; do not be stupid now. Do you know my other name?" Victor nodded. "And it is?" Victor remained quiet. "Say it!"

"Death," Victor whispered mainly because Godric had him so tightly by the throat.

"Very good, Victor. Now, here is what you may share with whomever you share such things. I am in this area for the foreseeable future. I support and pledge allegiance to Eric the Northman. Anyone who presumes to fuck with him will be fucking with me. I will assure, to whoever is fucking with us, that there will be… most deadly and unpleasant consequences. I solemnly promise that I will show you and them why I have that other name. Am I in any way unclear?" I have always loved my maker, but never more than right in this moment.

Victor shook his head. Godric wasn't satisfied, "say it you maggot."

"You are very clear, Godric," Victor cried, and if he could have, I think he would have peed himself.

Godric released his neck, "very well. Make sure you inform Felipe of this." As if we didn't know it was Felipe de Castro who had sent him. Just for good measure, Godric added, "I have no problem ending anyone who threatens us, up to and including any ridiculously caped, interloping monarch. And you can quote me on that. Do you understand?" Victor nodded.

I felt compelled to add, "and Victor, take your wandering self elsewhere, as sheriff I want you out of my area. If you are caught in my area after the next dawn, you will be punished. If you are caught within twenty-five miles of either of the Stackhouses you will be punished … with extreme prejudice. Are we clear?"

He glanced quickly at Godric and then at me, "you wouldn't dare…"

Godric growled, and I said, "try me… please try me, and see what I would dare. The only reason Bill Compton and his maker are still among the undead is because the FBI and Homeland Security were in the house when they made their latest attempt to abduct my Sookie. But their days are already numbered." I stared at Victor.

It almost seemed like I saw a light bulb go off over his head, and a sly smile spread across his face. "You were actually being honest with the press when you said that you loved the girl." I just continued to stare at him, expressionless, neither confirming nor denying. "Well, well, well… that is very interesting. I knew my trip to Louisiana would bear fruit."

He opened the door to leave, and I added, "oh, and Victor, if I were you, and I thank the gods every day that I'm not, I would expect to return to Nevada alone. Mr. Floyd Grout of Parhump is currently also in police custody."

There was a long pause before Victor turned around to face me, "who?" he asked. I just smirked at him, and he smirked right back. "Viking," he nodded to me as he left.

Godric shut the door and held up his hand as he listened to make sure that Victor left the building. Finally he nodded.

Pam looked at me, "now I'm going to make sure we are all locked up; be right back."

I rubbed my face with both hands. "Is it possible that I'm actually getting a headache?" I could hear Rasul chuckling.

"I can see where a night like tonight would give you one. I'll give you this, Eric, life around you is never dull," Rasul added.

I chuckled, "but you wouldn't believe how bored I was before I met my Sookie. She has, most unintentionally, turned my ordered little world upside down." I shook my head, "I wouldn't have it any other way if I get to have her." Rasul smiled at me.

Pam came back into the office, "we are all locked up now, and shouldn't have any more surprise visitors." She uncharacteristically shifted from foot to foot.

"What is it, Pamela," I asked.

"Master, I'm … concerned. I know that you … care for Sookie …"

"Love, Pamela, I love her."

"Whatever. But it looked like Victor was plotting how best to use that against you. Are you prepared for something like that?" she asked.

"I would say that you have very good observational skills, my child. I saw the same thing," I answered. "All we can do at this point is hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. I have excellent guards in place for Sookie and her family, and we just have to all watch our backs." Godric nodded. I thought for a moment, "Rasul, tomorrow night I want you to get a tuxedo, and I want you to accompany Pam to the charity ball on Saturday that I'm taking Sookie to. Pam, I'm sure you have a gown you can wear."

"Pfft, I have a few gowns, but they are all so last season. I may go shopping with Rasul tomorrow night if it's all right with you."

"Excellent, you can show him where to go. Is this agreeable to you, Rasul?" I asked. I looked at him and Pam; they would make a stunning couple.

Rasul smiled, "I would love to accompany Miss Pamela," he winked at her.

"Don't get any wild ideas, lover boy," she paused. "However, I think I would find attending with you… more than acceptable."

Rasul's smile widened, "It's a date then. I also look forward to shopping with you tomorrow night. Sadly, I didn't pack my tux when I vacated the palace. Actually, I didn't pack all that many clothes at all. Would you be able to help me find clothing, Pam?"

Pam's eyes sparkled because Rasul had just asked the best question he could have posed. "I would be most happy to help you fill out your wardrobe, Rasul." I chuckled to myself because I knew that Rasul had no idea what he was getting himself into. No one could shop like my Pamela, and now she had a willing victim.

After Rasul and Pam had arranged the details of their mutual shopping expedition for the following night, I thought it time to declare an end to the Fangtasia portion of our evening. Pam went home, and Rasul, Godric, and I returned to my home. The three of us talked until almost dawn, then parted ways to each seek our day rest. As I lay in my bed before the day death took me, I thought about the blood exchange I'd had earlier in the evening with Sookie. I took a moment to check in on her, and she seemed to be peacefully asleep. I also took a moment to imagine how beautiful she would look in her gown for the ball. I knew I would be the proudest man … vampire … man at the ball. Smiling at that thought, I fell blissfully into my day rest.

* * *

Friday, 4:23 p.m.

Eyes pop open, roll out of bed, stretch. Grab the remote, swish the mouse to start the television and computer. The news was reporting that the notorious terrorist vampire queen had spent her first night in incarceration, while there were two more attempts on the Stackhouses during the previous night, one of which may have involved the monarch of Nevada, and in unrelated news the president had said something on Monday that he was trying to 'unsay' on Thursday. Hmmm. This president baffled me, as I gathered that he baffled most Americans. Ah well… The vagaries of human politics are sometimes quite strange.

It had been a while since I'd checked in with Judge Judy, so I decided to give her a watch today; her barbed tongue didn't disappoint. Right at the end of the last episode, Godric walked into my room, and we watched Jeopardy together. We both would shout out answers together, he usually faster than I. It turned out to be a fun way to spend the afternoon. About halfway through the game, Rasul joined us. I had a terrific feeling of family with both of them staying with me.

"So, Rasul, are you ready for shopping with Pamela?" Godric asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, "sure, why not?" Both of us just chuckled.

I added, "Shopping with Pam is not just shopping. It is more like a … quest. A journey into the dark side of retail. Both Godric and I are veterans of this exercise. Good luck, my brother." Godric nodded with a smirk on his face.

"In the past, I have found it is better just to stand back and let Pamela have her way. As annoying as the expedition could be, she really does know what she's doing," Godric advised.

"If there were an Olympic competition for shopping, Pamela would win the gold medal every time," I chuckled. In a fit of total silliness, I imagined Pam in a beauty pageant, and trying to demonstrate shopping as her talent. Then my thoughts shifted, and I wondered what my Sookie had done for her talent portion of the pageant competition. I would have to ask her.

Soon, it was time for the national and then local news. Both had coverage of the terrorist vampires in custody. The ABC news speculated at length about the Nevada monarch, without actually naming him, in connection with the kidnapper from Parhump, Nevada. Good, very good, I thought. Surprisingly, there was a senator from Ohio who had teamed up with a congressman from California to introduce a bill that would make any unauthorized governmental structure/system illegal under the criminal code of the United States. This was obviously aimed at the current vampire system and its apparent illegalities. It might be interesting to see how far the U.S. government would take this, or rather how far they _could_ take this.

"Holy goats, they are really going to try to dismantle the monarchy system, aren't they?" Rasul asked.

"It appears so," Godric replied. "Someone needs to also mention the system of sheriffs. They are the vampires who actually keep order in America. I fear what may happen if the sheriffs lose all authority to control unruly vampires. The Authority needs to get out in front of this movement from the human government." He thought for a moment, "I'm going to make a few phone calls." He walked to his room.

Rasul and I watched Godric leave the room. Rasul asked, "do you know who he is going to call?"

"I think so, but I'm not at liberty to share that information."

Rasul shrugged his shoulders, "how much longer till dark?"

I looked at the clock and tapped into my senses as well, "about fifteen minutes. Pam doesn't live far from here so she should be here within about thirty minutes. Are you ready for shopping with her?"

"I guess. You've kind of frightened me a bit with all the talk of her shopping-mania. Any last words of warning?" he chuckled.

"Just go with whatever she is suggesting. You'll find it works better that way," I grinned, and he nodded.

Time passed, Pam arrived, and they were off to their shopping. Rasul gave me one last look of worry as he exited with Pam. I just smirked at him; he'd be fine. A little while later Godric emerged from his room. I gave him a questioning look.

"I've, hopefully, set The Authority in motion to work with the human government on this proposed dismantling of the monarch system. They are going to reach out to the legislators and law enforcement entities to suggest an alternative – a way to maintain order in the vampire world."

I nodded and felt relief. The last thing the vampires of America needed right now was violently uncontrollable rogues wandering freely thoughout the country. Hopefully, whatever The Authority was going to propose would prevent that. I thought about this whole situation, and started to chuckle.

"What humor have you found in this situation, Eric?"

"Apparently, Sookie Stackhouse is not just turning _my_ world upside-down…"

Godric thought for a moment and joined in my chuckling, "she is a most singular woman, to be sure."

I had just picked up the remote control to turn the television off, when there was an announcement that caught my attention. "We interrupt our normally scheduled programming for this breaking news. Nan Flanagan, representative of the American Vampire League, will be speaking and addressing the recent news events in a moment. Remarkably, the AVL has been very quiet during this terrorist threat from certain vampires in the state of Louisiana, and also possibly, as we learned earlier today, from the state of Nevada. We were finally contacted late this afternoon that the AVL was prepared to make a statement, and we are going to bring that to you live. We take you now to our affiliate station in New Orleans for that message."

The screen changed to reveal Nan in one of her pink power suits looking directly into the camera. "Good evening. This is Nan Flanagan from the American Vampire League here to address what has been unfolding in an almost cinematic way in the state of Louisiana. First of all, we want to assure all the citizens of the United States, both human and vampire, that the acts against the Stackhouse siblings in northern Louisiana are an isolated and unique event. Vampires in this country want nothing more than to dwell peacefully in this country. The perpetrators of these heinous acts do not represent the overwhelming majority of vampires, and the guilty parties have either been caught and arrested, or will soon be incarcerated, and the AVL fully supports the human law enforcement efforts to investigate, apprehend, judge, and eventually convict and punish these guilty parties. Unfortunately, the reality of the existence of law-breaking vampires is just as true as the existence of law-breaking humans.

"Moreover, authorities from the vampire community will work with legislators from the human government to dismantle the current vampire monarch system, and work further to create a system with checks and balances for the vampire population which will be beneficial to all races. As vampire Americans, we want to continue to contribute to making this the greatest country on earth.

"The AVL would especially like to thank Eric Northman of Shreveport, Louisiana for having the courage to step up and help the Stackhouse siblings, thereby coincidentally proving the existence of honorable, good vampires. He did so at great personal risk to himself, in light of the current vampire ruling infrastructure, and is to be commended for both his intentions and his actions. As Ms. Stackhouse said when she spoke to the press, equal rights work both ways – they guarantee equal protection and also equal culpability under the laws. I encourage everyone in America therefore to support the Vampire Rights Amendment. Thank you."

To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. I looked at Godric, and I saw that he was just as stunned. "What do you make of that?" I asked.

"Unbelievably, Ms. Flanagan has just made you an even bigger hero in this story," he answered in whispered tones. We just looked at each other for a long moment, and then we cracked up laughing. "I think your appearance at the ball to raise funds for the children's hospital is going to make you look positively like a saint." We both laughed at that as well.

"I guess we'd better get to Fangtasia; I certainly hope no one has swooped in to close it again tonight," I added. We proceeded to my car and made our way to the club. When I pulled up, I was relieved to see a full parking lot, and a line around the entire shopping center waiting to get into the bar. I pulled around to park at my space in the back, and there were a few news vans, and what looked like an entire army of photographers. As I eased up to the spot, I was nearly blinded by the flashes from the cameras. When Godric and I got out of the car, the flashes only increased, so we made our way as quickly as possible to the back door and into the club.

I walked up to my office door, and Maxwell Lee was standing in front of it. "Sheriff, there's a gentleman in your office from _Time_ magazine. His credentials checked out, and he wants to interview you. Since I've seen you occasionally reading that magazine, I thought you might want to allow it. If not, I will simply ask him to leave."

I looked at Godric and he shrugged. I did like _Time_ magazine, so I thought I would talk to him. I nodded at Maxwell Lee and he went back to managing the club in Pam's absence. I walked into the office, and the gentleman stood from the chair in front of my desk and extended his hand to me; I shook it in response.

"Hello, Mr. Northman. My name is Todd Baker from _Time_ magazine. Our next issue is going to be dedicated to everything that is happening here in Louisiana. Can you speak with me for a few minutes?" He pulled out his credentials, and I looked them over. They seemed to be in order, so I nodded and gestured for him to re-take his seat. Godric walked again to the wall to my left and crossed his arms.

"Good evening, Mr. Baker. How can I help you?" I asked.

"As I said, I would like to speak with you, interview you for the magazine. Since so much is being said and written about the terrorist vampires involved in this kidnap plot, I think it would be very helpful to print the words and story of the vampire who has been helping the humans. Don't you?" I nodded and waited for his first question.

"How did you find out about the kidnapping attempts against the Stackhouses?"

"When Sookie called and told me. She was very frightened at the time, so I sent friends of mine to protect her as I was out of town."

"Why were you out of town?"

"The queen had called me to her compound."

"Why did she call you there?

"She had some financial matters she wanted me to help her with; at least that's what she told me." I heard Godric clear his throat unnecessarily which told me I might have been tip-toeing toward treason. Like it or not, the queen was still the queen, at least until someone told us differently.

Mr. Baker continued, "but you now suspect there was another reason for her to summon you to New Orleans?"

I thought about how to answer the question without crossing that treason line, and once again, Godric bailed me out by answering the question, "Mr. Baker, the current vampire ruling system has not yet been dismantled, so it will be difficult for Eric to answer some of your questions without committing treason against his queen, which is punishable by the true death. However, I am not a resident of this state, so I can tell you this: as soon as Eric was out of the area, Andre Paul, the queen's own progeny, as well as her second in command, showed up to kidnap the Stackhouses. Mr. Paul is the kidnapper who even threatened the police, and I believe he is currently in residence at the state psychiatric hospital."

"Ah yes. Thank you, Mr….?" Baker asked.

"My name is Godric, just Godric. I am a long-time friend of Eric's, and I'm one of the friends he called in to protect the Stackhouses."

"Yes, yes, yes… You took the vampire down in the greenhouse; I saw the video. Where are you from?"

"I currently reside in Texas, but I may consider relocating to Louisiana permanently in the future."

"I've heard you referred to as the Viking, Mr. Northman. Why is that?"

"I was a Viking in my human life. I came from a place in what is now called Sweden."

"How old are you?" Mr. Baker asked.

"A little over a millennium; I don't know the exact age," I responded.

Mr. Baker seemed to freeze at that answer, but he tried to be cool about it, "I see… And you Godric, where are you from and how old are you?"

"I am from Gaul; today it is called the Normandy region of France. I'm a little more than twice Eric's age."

Mr. Baker froze again doing the math. This time it was more difficult for him to remain stoic, "Wow, just wow. You two have seen so much history." We both just shrugged. "What was your favorite historical period?"

That was an interesting question that I'd never been asked before. I thought it over, "I'm very fond of this time right now. For the first time in my existence, I have fallen in love. I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. If I had to pick an historical period, I would say I was really fond of Elizabethan England. I loved going to the theatre during that time. Especially Mr. Shakespeare's plays; I could always sense that there was something very special about them."

Mr. Baker swallowed, "and you Godric, what was your favorite historical time period?" I wondered the answer to that myself.

Godric seemed to think over his answer, "there was a time when Eric, our friend Rasul, and I lived in Florence. It was during the very early days of what is now called the Renaissance. Great artists were discovering and celebrating their humanity. Their creations, as well as their fellowship, were quite wonderful. I don't ever recall an era with so much introspective discovery going on. I don't think the humans were quite as aware of what was happening at the time, but vampires have the advantage of having seen what came much before an era, so I think we more fully appreciate those subtleties of change."

"What do you like about living in America?"

"I've never really thought about that," I answered. "I guess I like the opportunities I've found here. I like the southern hospitality of this area. I like the abundance of entertainment, I like American football, especially the Minnesota Vikings, for obvious reasons, and I like that Americans are so proud of their country and are so free to be verbal about what they want changed. As a vampire, I really envy that freedom in particular. We aren't allowed to verbalize objections to things we don't like or don't agree with, even if they are illegal."

"Are you hoping this new push for changes of the vampire ruling structure with the human government and authorities from the vampire world changes that?"

Godric and I answered without hesitation in unison, "yes."

Mr. Baker smiled at that, "I see. So, Mr. Northman, you are in a relationship with Sookie Stackhouse, and you've admitted publicly that you love her. Isn't that an unusual admission for a vampire?"

I smiled, "you have no idea how rare that is, but I do love her, so I'm not going to deny that."

"As it stands now, you two aren't allowed to get married. If the VRA passes, that could change. Would you marry Ms. Stackhouse if you could?"

How to answer that? I chuckled, "Mr. Baker, you've kind of put me in a spot here, since we haven't reached the stage of our relationship to discuss such things, mainly because we don't have many options. We love each other, yes, we have discussed that much. We've only started discussing the long-term. Now… having said all that, do I want to marry Sookie Stackhouse? Absolutely, I do. And with any luck, and the passage of the VRA, someday I will." I looked over at Godric, and he had an uncharacteristic smile spread all the way across his face.

Mr. Baker was smiling and nodding as well, "Mr. Northman, I've also heard you referred to as an honorable vampire. Where did you learn honor?"

"I learned it from two individuals mainly. First my human father. He was a very honorable man, and he taught that quality to all of his children as well as his people."

"His people?" Mr. Baker asked.

"Yes, my father was a king."

"So you were a prince in your human life?"

"Yes, I was. The second person to teach me honor was my maker; he is a very honorable vampire, and he always encouraged that quality in me."

"Your maker is still alive? He basically took your human life from you, but you still think of him as honorable?"

I smiled, "I had been fatally wounded in battle, and I was on dying on my funeral pyre when he came to me and offered me a different choice. I took it, and I've never once regretted it."

"That does sound honorable. I don't suppose you'd tell me his identity?"

"Not without discussing the matter with him first. That would be only right."

"Fair enough. Well, thank you, Mr. Northman, Godric, for being so open and forthcoming with me. I appreciate it, and I'm going to do my best to do you justice in my article."

"Mr. Baker, I look forward to reading your article," I admitted. I didn't want to thank him in case the article turned into a hatchet job, but it didn't seem like it would.

Mr. Baker rose and continued, "I don't know the exact layout of the article, but the thrust is going to be good versus bad vampires in America. You will be the representation of the good American vampire. I've done some research on you already, so there may be things in the article that we haven't discussed, but nothing for you to worry about. I'm a very fair writer, and _Time_ is a very fair magazine.

"When will this issue be coming out?" I asked as I also rose from my chair.

"Next week, while this kidnapping story is still timely. If I happen to think of any follow-up questions is there a number where I can easily reach you?"

I got a card from the inside pocket of my jacket and handed it to him, "this is my cell phone."

"Again, thank you Mr. Northman for taking the time to talk with me. And…," he paused. "And good luck with the passage of the VRA and getting to marry your love." He smiled at me and I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good night," he said just before he crossed to the office door and left.

I turned to Godric, "what do you think of that?"

"He seemed sincere in his wish to paint you as the good American vampire. I would be very surprised if he did otherwise."

I thought about something for a minute before I asked Godric, "would you accompany me to a store?"

"What kind of store?" he asked.

"A jewelry store. I understand that it is tradition to give a young woman a ring of engagement when you plan to get married, and once this article comes out, I want to have one ready for Sookie, in case she is ready to say yes."

Godric smiled again, "Let's go shopping."

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 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Thanks so much to the following people who found my Chapter 18 update and reviewed as of 5/6/17: princessspot5, ljhjelm49, Alison actually, hummingbirdgrrl, Asami's clown, tanseynz, MsNorthman, VampMad50, Perfecta999, autumnchild25, Jfozz, pnwer


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Prepping for the Ball

 **AN:** Again had a lot of trouble posting Chapter 19, too. I haven't gotten email notice of a new posting since chapter 17! If you haven't either, please be sure to read 18  & 19 – good stuff happens. I've seen a big drop off in the number of chapter reviews, so I'm hoping that posting this chapter goes well.

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Godric and I walked into the jewelry store and split apart to look around. I don't think this particular store had ever had vampire customers before because the salespeople looked a little skittish. They left us to ourselves to examine all of their showcases until we decided that we needed help. I knew by their reputation that the quality of jewelry at this store was the best that could be had in Shreveport. I saw sparkling rings, bracelets, and necklaces.

I thought in addition to the engagement ring, that I might get Sookie some jewelry for the ball as well. Since I didn't know what color her gown was, I thought I would just go with diamonds; surely they go with everything. When I'd had a pretty thorough look around, I signaled one of the sales people to let them know that I was ready for their help. A well-dressed woman who looked to be in her late thirties/early forties came over and asked, "May I help you find something?" She seemed nervous.

I smiled to hopefully calm her nerves and answered, "Yes, I'm looking for some jewelry for my… girlfriend. We're going to a charity ball tomorrow night, so I'd like to surprise her with something to go with her gown, and also I'd like to look at engagement rings."

The saleswoman, whose store nametag revealed her to be named Regina Spenalzo, smiled and said, "I'd be very happy to help you. Do you know what color or type of ball gown your girlfriend will be wearing?"

"Unfortunately, I do not, but I thought I couldn't really go wrong with diamonds."

Her eyes widened, "Of course, it would be helpful to know what kind of neckline the gown has, but let's see if we can't find you something that would go with just about everything." She led me over to a showcase of necklaces, "here we have necklaces. We have everything you might want, I think, ranging from a single diamond slide necklace," she said as she laid a chain with a single diamond on it upon a velvet mat, "to something far more elaborate," she then laid out a necklace with clusters of diamonds in circular patterns all around from clasp to clasp.

Godric wandered over to look at the necklaces as well. "These are the opposite ends of the diamond necklace spectrum. What do you think she would like; which one is closer to her tastes or style?" I asked him. He didn't hesitate to point to the single diamond necklace, which is what I thought as well. "So, we both think she'd like something a little simpler. What else do you have on this end of the spectrum?"

She then proceeded to pull out a tray of various necklaces with diamonds in them; there were crosses, hearts, anchors, and a wide assortment of other shapes and things with diamonds in them, on them, around them. Then I saw it. A necklace with an elegant fairy made up of diamonds. I pointed to it, and Godric actually took in a sharp breath and then smiled and nodded. "That's the one," I told Ms. Spenalzo.

She removed it from its case to let me get a look at the entire necklace, and it was delicate and beautiful; it was just perfect. "You have very good taste. This is Chopard. There is a matching pair of earrings, if you'd like to see them?" I nodded, and she went over to another case and returned with what I was to learn were a pair of delicate drop earrings with the same little fairy on them. I couldn't help but smile. I know I might as well put a big neon sign over Sookie's head that said, "Fairy here, Fairy here," but I didn't care. They were just perfect for her.

"I'll take both," I told Ms. Spenalzo, and she gave me a big smile in return. "Now for the engagement ring?" I asked. She placed the necklace and earrings on one of those velvet mats and carried it with her to another showcase that had the rings. I noticed right away, that engagement rings apparently had at least one large-ish diamond on a band. Some of them had other smaller diamonds in addition. Also, the gems were set in either white or yellow gold or platinum. The fairy set had been set in white gold, so I decided that the engagement ring would be either that or platinum. Except for the size of the diamonds, nothing really leapt out at me. Finally, I noticed on that I rather liked and pointed it out to Ms. Spenalzo.

She pulled out the ring, and began giving me the details, "this is a 3.5 carat emerald cut diamond with over one carat of four baguette diamonds – two on either side in a platinum setting." The jewelry store lights certainly made it sparkle. I looked at all of the other engagement rings again, and nothing better appeared to me, but this ring wasn't quite right either. And then it occurred to me.

"Ms. Spenalzo, would it be possible to replace the diamonds on the side, the baguettes, with rubies? Would they shine as brilliantly?" I asked.

"Oh yes, that would be possible, and we only carry the finest, non-conflict gems here. The ring would shine just a brilliantly with ruby baguettes. In fact, I think that would be just lovely."

"I like that idea, Eric," Godric added with a smile.

I nodded, "all right, let's do that then. How long will it take you to make the replacements?"

"It would normally take at least two business days, but we can put a rush on it if the ring is needed sooner?" she answered.

"It would be ready by Tuesday at the latest?" I asked and she nodded. "That would be sufficient, I think. So, how much do I owe you for everything?"

"Let me just add everything up," she said pulling a small calculator up onto the counter, as she filled out a ticket. It was only three items, so it didn't take long, "for the necklace, the earrings, the ring with rubies replacing the diamond baguettes, it comes to $76,595.16." I pulled a credit card out of my wallet and handed it to her. "I'll be right back," she said and went to the back of the store with my purchases.

"Ms. Spenalzo, could you put the necklace and earrings into a case of some sort that I might give as a gift?"

"Absolutely, just give me a minute."

While she was gone, I noticed several people in the store sneaking glances at Godric and me. I took the opportunity to ask Godric in Old Norse, "you don't think I'm putting Sookie in danger with the fairy necklace and earrings, do you?"

He chuckled and replied in the same language, "of course not. Obviously that necklace was made to sell to the general human population. It just happens to have special significance to your Sookie."

Finally, Ms. Spenalzo returned with paperwork and a case presumably holding the necklace and earrings. She seemed a little more jittery this time. "Mr. Northman, here is your credit card receipt, if you could just sign here." She pointed to a spot on the receipt, then, "this paperwork is an appraisal for insurance purposes of the necklace and earrings, and this one is for the engagement ring. And here is the case you asked for." She lifted the opening of the case, and the necklace and earrings were beautifully displayed, and I nodded in appreciation. "Mr. Northman, are these for that lovely young woman in Bon Temps? The one the terrorist vampire queen has been trying to kidnap?" I nodded, and she continued, "so you must be the good vampire who has been saving her, right?"

I smiled at her, "I am. I appreciate your help in this. Would it be possible to have the ring delivered to me at Fangtasia on Tuesday?"

She smiled brightly, "Of course it is, just let me make a note here. Will there be anything else for you this evening?" I shook my head. "Mr. Northman, here is my card. If you should need anything else in the future, just give me a call, and I will put things together for you in advance. It has been my pleasure to help you today."

"Thank you, you've been very helpful; have a good evening," I replied. Then Godric and I walked out of the store. I took the jewelry case and paperwork into my office when we arrived at Fangtasia and locked all of it in the safe for the evening and sat in the chair behind my desk. I spared a moment to wonder how the shopping was going with Rasul and Pam and wondered if Rasul was still my _smiling_ friend at this point.

I realized that it had been quite a while since I had made an appearance in the club, let alone on the stage. I rolled my eyes at the thought of throne duty, and I counted the days until Francois would get here and take that over for me. He had called and accepted my offer of employment, and we had emailed back and forth several times. He just had a few loose ends to tie up in France, or so he said, and he would probably be here in a week or two. In the mean time, I was stuck with throne duty. So I just had to suck it up and get out there. But first, I thought I'd give my Sookie a call; her voice would get me through the dreaded throne duty.

I dialed, and she answered on the second ring, "Good evening, my Sookie."

"Hey there, my Eric. How are you this evening?"

"Missing you. How are you?"

"Exactly the same! What are the odds?" We both laughed.

I asked, "did anything of note happen today?"

"No, thank the Lord. Today was blissfully quiet, at least from the kidnapping turmoil perspective. It was very active from The Enchanted Forest business perspective. We picked up some new landscaping contracts today, and we sold a lot of plants. Between that article in the paper and all of the recent publicity, we are really on the rise."

"That's very good, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, it's great! I just hope it lasts. If it does, we may even need to hire more employees. We won't do that, though, unless we have this kind of sustained business."

"That's smart. Did you pick out a gown for tomorrow night?"

"I was going to do that in a little while. I just took my shower, and was settling in for the evening. What are you doing?"

"I've had a very interesting time since last I saw you. While your world has quieted down, mine has done the opposite. I had visits last night from Nan Flanagan of the AVL and from Victor Madden who is the second to the king of Nevada. Unfortunately, they both seemed very interested in finding out what you and your brother are."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them that you were 'off limits'. That didn't satisfy them, obviously. Godric was quick to point out that we have a lot of protection around you, and that you were perfectly safe. I do hope you feel safe…"

"I do, Eric, I really do. It's just… "

"It's just what, Sookie?"

"What happens when all this dies down? What happens if some time passes, and we let down our guard, or the Britlingens go home? Will everyone just forget about us and leave us alone? It doesn't seem likely."

My Sookie was really a good strategic thinker. "We will figure that all out, Sookie. Let us just live in the here and now for a while. There will be time enough to plan for the future."

"I know, Eric, and I don't mean to sound in any way ungrateful…"

"You don't, so don't worry about that. Oh… also tonight, I had a visit from a reporter from _Time_ magazine. They are going to do a 'good versus bad vampire' article. He interviewed me, and he seemed genuinely interested in presenting the good side of vampires. I'm hoping I wasn't fooled by him."

"You're going to be in _Time_ magazine? That is so cool!"

I just started laughing, "Sookie, you do realize that we've both been on national television for the last week, don't you?" She started laughing with me.

"I guess so," she agreed, still chuckling.

"I'd better let you go, my Sookie. You need to pick out your gown, and I have the dreaded throne duty. At least while I'm on that wretched throne I can fantasize about you trying on evening gowns."

That really set off her giggles, "OK, my Eric. I'll see you tomorrow night. I can't wait."

"Neither can I. Good night, my Sookie, I love you."

"I love you, too, my Eric, good night. Hey, and sit pretty on the throne," she laughed and I rolled my eyes as I hung up.

Ah fuck, time to pay the piper. What the hell does that expression even mean? I stood and put on my club face and walked out to assume the throne. Godric was seated in my booth with a True Blood in front of him. I nodded to him as I walked up to the stage and took my seat. I noticed that there was a really, really big crowd, and my first thought was, had we exceeded the fire marshall's capacity limit? That was the last thing we needed, to have the fire marshall shut us down. Oh well, hopefully that wouldn't happen. I started reading my emails on my phone, and I noticed that the club had gotten very quiet. Even the DJ had stopped the music. I looked up.

Then I noticed that all eyes were on me. I was accustomed to being stared at on the throne to be sure, but the club had gone extremely quiet at the same time, and literally all eyes were on me. Then I heard someone start clapping, and then more joined until everyone in the club was applauding. The only sound in the club was the applause. I looked over at Godric in the booth, and he was smiling from ear to ear and clapping his hands also. Slowly, a smile spread across my face, and I closed my eyes and nodded my head once at the crowd in acknowledgement. I gestured to the DJ to re-start the music, and the club went back to its usual life. Well, well, well, that was most unexpected.

A little bit later, I saw Rasul come in from the back of the club and join Godric in my booth. He didn't look any the worse for wear, so I surmised he survived his shopping trip with Pamela with a minimum of difficulty. Surprisingly, he even looked relatively happy. He nodded to me with his characteristic smile, and I nodded in return. After another half hour on the throne, I couldn't stand it anymore, and I needed to know how it had gone with Pamela. So I got up from the throne and joined the two of them in my booth.

"So, Rasul, you look remarkably OK, which makes me wonder how the shopping trip with Pamela went. Did you get a tux?" I asked.

"Oh yes, I got a great tux, Armani, in fact. Pamela has great taste. I don't know why you made me so paranoid about the shopping. I actually had a great time," Rasul said. I decided then and there that Rasul could probably get along with anyone, anywhere. That was an amazing ability, maybe even a vampire gift, and I decided to try to help him find a way to make the most of that. I already knew that he had not only survived Sophie Ann's court, but he had also thrived there, and he had also found a way to hold on to his integrity in the process. And anyone who could do that, under those circumstances, was undoubtedly a vampire of many talents.

"Godric told me about the reporter from _Time_ magazine, and the spontaneous applause earlier. You must be feeling quite good," Rasul smiled to me.

"I must admit, it's been a good night," I smiled back at him. "Where is Pamela?"

"She said that since she had the night off for shopping with me, she was going to take full advantage of it, and take the whole night off. She told me I could quote her on that," Rasul said widening his smile. Both Godric and I laughed.

"Well, it appears that you had a very different shopping experience than either of us had," I told him.

"I don't see how. I just did what you said, and let her take the lead. She has very good taste. All the clothes she picked out for me were kind of perfect, and exactly what I would have picked out for myself. Why would I get upset about that?" Rasul shrugged. "I wore only suits at the palace. But I'm not there anymore. Pamela helped me pick out clothes that are good for all kinds of occasions."

"Are you up for the ball tomorrow night?" I asked.

His smile widened, "oh yes, I think that will be quite the fun event. I especially look forward to attending with Pamela. I think we will have a lot of fun dancing together."

I looked at him, "I hope you do have fun together, but I also want you to help me keep an eye on Sookie and on others attending the ball who may have bad intentions toward her. Are you OK with that?"

"Of course, I had already figured that Pam and I were going just for that purpose, but we can still try to have fun, right?"

I smiled at him, "Absolutely." We both turned and looked at Godric, "What about you, old man, what are you going to do tomorrow night?" Godric just shrugged his shoulders. "Did you want to go to the ball as well?"

"Gods, no. Do not worry about me. I will find something to do," Godric assured us.

"Just so you both know, Sookie and I will not be returning to the house tomorrow night. I want some time alone with my Sookie." Both Rasul and Godric smiled and nodded at that. "Finally," I added which made them chuckle. We continued to talk together in the booth for the rest of the evening. Occasionally, other vampires would walk up to us for a short conversation, and even a few humans would walk by to get a closer look, though none of them approached the table.

At the end of the evening, after retrieving Sookie's jewelry from my safe, the three of us returned to my house once again. Rasul and Godric once again hung out in my room, with the television on, but our conversation was so lively, I couldn't tell you what was on. We had all three lived together for over fifty years, a long, long time ago, but it was as if we had never lived apart since then.

While we were talking, I took care of business via the Internet. I also sent messages to my day man for things I wanted accomplished during the day on Saturday in preparation for my date to the ball with Sookie… and afterward. I had a few surprises in mind for her to make the night really special. After all, our first date went so spectacularly well, I needed to find a way to at least equal that, if not top it.

As it got close to dawn, we once again split to our separate rooms. I lay in my bed waiting for the day death to take me thinking about being with Sookie the next night. Gods, but I was horny for her. I laughingly remembered telling her that my blood would make her more horny for me. Oh, how I looked forward to an entire evening in her company, and with luck, part of the next evening as well. With that thought, I let the dawn take me.

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4:02 p.m. Saturday

Eyes pop open, roll out of bed and stretch. Grab the remote and swish the mouse, start the night. I had an email from my day man telling me that all my requests for the evening had been fulfilled. Well done. So far, so good. I flipped around the stations on the TV and landed on the classic movie channel and my favorite John Wayne western, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Of all the westerns the Duke made, this one was the most original and the most thoughtful. It seemed to have a lot of parallels for the vampire situation happening right now in America. Liberty Valance was a bad cowboy who thought he was above the law. Jimmy Stewart was a mild-mannered, but courageous attorney trapped in a lawless western territory town that was bullied by Valance and his co-horts. John Wayne stood in the middle keeping everything from falling apart and doing his best to protect Jimmy Stewart and the rest of the town. I never thought I would relate to John Wayne, but today I did. I had to chuckle as I imagined myself in a large cowboy hat and boots, with a six-shooter strapped to my hip.

It was when I was just about to quick-draw my imaginary pistol that Godric walked in. I was just a little embarrassed and Godric just silently chuckled. "I do that too, sometimes," Godric confessed, "get so wrapped up in what I'm watching." I just raised my eyebrow at him in question. "I'm not always the stoical ancient. Sometimes, I let the boy in me out," he smiled. "I particularly like to play X-Box."

I shook my head. I've thought of Godric as more my father than anything else for so long, that I forget that in his heart he is a teenager. A very, very old and very, very smart teenager. Of course he liked X-Box! He probably also liked MTV, but he would never let anyone know. "What are you going to do tonight?" I asked him.

"Probably nothing. Just hang out." I just looked at him. "What?" he asked. "Sometimes I really like a quiet evening at home. I might make a few phone calls." He shrugged his shoulders, "I might go visit Adele this evening."

"OK… I'm going to hop in the shower in a minute. Let me know if you think of anything you need before we leave."

Since there was only one shower in this light tight space, I went ahead and hopped in, since I knew that Rasul would want to use the facilities as well. When I got out I threw on a pair of lounge pants. It was still early to put on the tux, and I didn't want to wrinkle it any more than necessary. I made sure to have a good meal also. By the time I had showered and drank my dinner, Rasul was up and heading into the shower. We all ended up chatting for about half an hour before it was time to get serious and put on our tuxes and head on out for what I hoped would be a magical evening.

Once the sun was down, we went upstairs where I had the jewelry for Sookie and flowers for Adele waiting. I had rented a limousine for the evening, so the three of us hopped in. Godric had decided to visit Adele after all. We stopped by Pam's and picked her up as well, and then we headed out to Bon Temps. I looked across the back of the car and smirked because I was right about what a stunning couple that Pam and Rasul made. Rasul looked very dashing in his tuxedo – it was all black with a gray brocade vest. Mine was custom made and was all black with a black vest. Pam was in a dress that was light pink at the corseted top, but it got progressively darker as it went down to the flowing hem. She looked lovely, as usual. And then there was Godric in a t-shirt and jeans. I had to smile at the contrast.

We arrived at the house on Hummingbird Lane, and we all piled out of the car. Godric led the way to the front door and knocked. Unsurprisingly, Thalia opened the door and we all trooped in after the required invitation was issued to Pam. Adele just oohed and ahhhed over how nice we all looked, and she was delighted that Godric was going to visit with her for a while. I presented her with the bouquet of yellow roses, and she blushed and smiled.

At last, my Sookie appeared at the top of the stairs, and her beauty paralyzed me. She was… she was… I couldn't think of an adjective descriptive enough to honor her beauty. She was wearing a solid white gown that must have had some kind of crystal beading all over on it because it sparkled. She sparkled. It was a simple, fitted, straight sheath, sleeveless with a v-neck. Her tan skin looked amazing in contrast to the white gown. Her hair was up in curls, and there were little crystals sparkling all throughout it. The only jewelry she was wearing were a pair of small crystal earrings and a crystal bracelet. She had a large white chiffon scarf as a wrap and a small white clutch bag with pearls on it. She made her way down the stairs to the stares of everyone on the bottom floor.

Godric was the first to speak, "Sookie, you are a vision." She smiled shyly and blushed and looked up at me. I saw her eyes taking me in as well.

"You look very handsome, Eric," she said and then looked over at Rasul and Pam, "you two look very striking as well. Are we double dating?"

I finally found my tongue, "magnificent." Everyone turned to look at me as if there were more I would be saying, but that was the only word I had to say. It was the only word I needed to say. Hell, it was the only word I could say. I had yet to take my eyes off of her.

"Yes, we are," Pam answered giving me an inquisitive look, "double dating and magnificent. Eric thought it might be fun… plus we'll be there if anything amiss happens."

Sookie smiled and nodded, "That's a very pretty dress, Pam. I hope you'll be able to show me where you got it when we have our shopping spree."

"I'd love to. Rasul and I had a shopping spree just last night. He left most of his clothes behind when he fled the palace, but I think we got him pretty well set up last night. Don't you think so, Rasul?"

"I definitely do. Thanks again for your help, Pam."

I took her hand and said again, "magnificent. That's how you look." She widened her smile. "I've brought you a gift." I held the case out and opened it for her.

She gasped. "Oh my goodness, Eric… Gran, come and see," she called to her grandmother.

Adele walked over and looked at the necklace and earrings, "Oh my stars. Isn't that lovely." Sookie seemed to be looking at her grandmother for some kind of approval, and I started to worry that maybe she didn't like my gift. "I think that it would be OK, Sookie," she said and turned to me. "Eric, that is such a lovely and thoughtful gift, but you know Sookie doesn't expect you to give her things. But I think she can accept this one though." Sookie seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Will you help me put them on?" she asked.

"Love to," I responded. She removed the earrings from her ears and turned around. I handed Rasul the case and took out the necklace and placed it around her neck. She turned around, and it was perfect, falling to the perfect spot in the opening of her v-neck gown. She put on the fairy earrings herself.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Magnificent," I seemed to be stuck on that word. She smiled up at me. A silence fell over all of us.

Finally Rasul spoke, "shall we go to a ball?" That broke the tension, and we all laughed.

I extended my bent arm to Sookie, "shall we, Ms. Stackhouse?"

She placed her hand inside my elbow, "we shall, Mr. Northman." As we walked to the door, she whispered, "could you grab that bag for me?" I looked down and saw a small overnight bag sitting by the door. I reached down and picked it up while giving Sookie a wicked smile.

Tonight was going to be a great night!

* * *

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

I have to confess that when I started this story, I had no idea that Rasul meant so much to me. But after creating his backstory, he's kind of become my baby and come to mean a great deal to me. I hope you find him as endearing as I do, at least in this story. Of all of the relatively minor characters in the Sookie Stackhouse novels, Thalia and Rasul were always the most intriguing to me (followed closely by Hoyt Fortenberry); however, so many fanfic writers before me have latched on to Thalia, and only a few have bothered much at all with Rasul, so I was drawn to him. Anyway… thanks for reading.

Special thanks to all who reviewed since the last chapter, as of 5/9/17: Guest, princessspot5, Asami's clown, pnwer, hummingbirdgrrl, MsNorthman, ashmo2000, peachesgo, Perfecta999


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Let's Dance

 **AN: Had trouble posting Chapter 20! Again! Argh! That makes three chapters in a row. If you don't read unless you get an email notice of a new chapter, you need to go all the way back to Chapter 18. Just giving you a heads up…**

The ride in the limousine was very merry among the four of us. There was a bottle of chilled champagne, and I served a glass or two to Sookie. There was also Royalty that the rest of us drank. Even Pamela was in a jolly mood, and that is an adjective I would rarely, if ever, apply to her. I felt very happy myself; Rasul and I would be walking in with undoubtedly the two most beautiful women at the ball.

We pulled up to the arrival doors for the grand ballroom at the Bonne Chance. I exited the limousine first and extended my hand to Sookie, followed by Rasul who did the same for Pam. Immediately, there was a strobe-light show of cameras going off. I took Sookie's hand and placed it in the crook of my elbow, and we smiled together at the cameras. I didn't look back at Rasul and Pamela, but I was pretty sure they were doing the same. We walked the gauntlet of photographers, smiling and nodding all the way.

Sookie kept smiling, and asked me through smiling teeth like a ventriloquist, "is this normal for charity balls, to have all of these photographers?"

I kissed her on her temple and the cameras' flashing increased, "no, Lover, it's not. Someone must have called and let them know we were attending."

She looked up at me and asked, "and who would that be?"

"Possibly me?" I grinned at her, "anonymously." She just chuckled at that, and the cameras captured that as well. We finally entered into the hall outside the ballroom.

"You never told me the ball was at your hotel," Sookie said.

"Does it matter?" I asked. She shook her head. "For the record, there are a lot of events that are held at this ballroom. Charity balls, banquets, conventions, proms, non-profit fundraisers, you name it. This one just happens to be here as well."

"Does it kind of feel like you are hosting this in your rather large living room?" Sookie asked rather cheekily.

I smiled at her, "in a way it does. I'm having your overnight bag brought up to my penthouse." I waggled my eyebrows. She giggled at my silliness, and I chuckled myself. We approached the door to the ballroom, and I presented my prepaid invitation. We passed through, and Rasul presented the invitation I'd given him, and we were all inside.

It was really lovely inside. There were little white Christmas lights wrapping each column and all throughout the ballroom. All of the tables had elaborate flower arrangements in urns and numerous candles. There were panels of fabric draped beautifully throughout. There were three cash bars arranged strategically around the room and two champagne fountains as well. To the right side of the ballroom there was an elaborate buffet set up. Along both front entrance walls of the ballroom were tables set up for the silent auction. There seemed to be some rather elegant artwork available to bid on, as well as baskets containing all sorts of things that one might want to purchase. I tried to estimate and thought there were at least eighty or more things to bid on. I also knew that there would be a live auction later in the evening, and that those higher ticket items were on display at the back of the ballroom to the side of the orchestra. I might check them out later and see if anything caught my fancy.

I looked over at Sookie, and she had a big smile on her face. I looked at her and raised my eyebrow. She laughed and said simply, "it's so beautiful in here. It feels like a magical evening is in store." I smiled back at her; I sincerely hoped this night would indeed be more than magical.

The orchestra had not yet begun playing, but we could hear the cacophony of them tuning up. I knew from past experience that the orchestra would play all kinds of music, from traditional waltzes to other kinds of ballroom dance music to modern tunes with vocals provided by talented singers. The ballroom was filled with people in gowns and tuxedos, but no one even came close to looking as beautiful as my Sookie and my child Pamela. In fact, there were many heads that turned our way when we entered.

We made our way over to an unclaimed table near the dance floor and claimed four seats for ourselves. Rasul and I pulled out chairs for our ladies to take a seat next to each other, and then we sat on the seats next to them. I reached over and took Sookie's hand under the table, and she looked at me with a brilliant smile. Yes, tonight was going to be a great night.

"They've really made this place look beautiful," Sookie observed. "Is there a theme?"

"I think their theme this year is Arabian Nights, see all this fabric draped like a desert sheik's tent?" I told her. "There usually is a different theme each year."

Sookie nodded, "have you come to many of these?"

"I've been to a few. Usually because it's a good way to network for some of my businesses. This is the first year it is being held here at my hotel, so how could I _not_ come this year," I smiled at her. "Plus, this year I have the most beautiful woman in the room as my date…"

"A+ for sweet talk," she whispered in my ear. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face as well. I looked over at Rasul and Pam, and they were both grinning from ear to ear at us. I raised one eyebrow at them, and they turned away to their own discussion.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked Sookie. "Another champagne perhaps?"

"That sounds nice, thank you," she replied.

"I'll be right back," I said as I stood and went to the nearest bar. I returned with a full bottle in an ice bucket and a couple champagne flutes; I thought it might look odd to bring just one. I popped the cork and poured a glass for her. A few moments later, a waiter brought over three golden goblets of Royalty for the rest of us.

Rasul proposed a toast, "To having a great night of dancing and friendship." We all four tapped glasses and drank.

Not long after that two people walked up to the microphone in front of the now-silent orchestra. The man was the first to speak, "Good evening ladies and gentleman, and welcome to the annual ball benefitting the Caddo Parish Children's Hospital." There was polite applause. "I am George Vidrine, chief administrator of the hospital, and I want to personally thank all of you for coming out tonight to support this worthy cause. I hope you have a wonderful evening of dancing and dining. I'd like to introduce the lovely lady responsible for this evening, the president of the foundation that supports our hospital, Darcy Hunnicut."

"Good evening, everybody, and thank you again for coming to support the Children's Hospital. I'd like to thank the charity ball committee who put everything together for tonight under the leadership of the committee chair, Paula Fuselier. Let's give them all a big hand for the lovely evening they've created for us." More polite applause came from those in attendance. "Please take some time to look over the items in both the silent and live auctions. Place your bids in the silent auction, and don't be afraid to be generous, this is a fundraiser, after all. Make sure you sample the food at the buffet, the Bonne Chance has really outdone themselves for us, and we'd like to thank the owner of the Bonne Chance, Eric Northman, for donating the use of this lovely ballroom." Again, there was polite applause, although this one seemed a little louder. "Now that we've got all those thank you's out of the way, I am pleased to introduce your orchestra for this evening, The Changing Times, under the direction of Mr. T-Lew Comeaux… Let's dance!"

And then the opening strains of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" began to play. Sookie thought that was funny and giggled, and the rest of us just smiled. The singer handled the song quite well. Sookie whispered, "let's go look at the silent auction items."

I stood and extended my hand, and she came with me to the front of the room. We worked the silent auction tables from our left to right. She actually put in a bid on a couple items and then we returned to our table just in time for the orchestra to play a classic Viennese waltz. I took Sookie's champagne flute and placed it on the table and escorted her to the dance floor, and together we waltzed. She was a beautiful dancer. We stared into each other's eyes as we glided and spun around the dance floor. I took one moment to look away from my Sookie to notice that Rasul and Pamela were also dancing the waltz. When the waltz ended, a traditional slow dance began, and I pulled Sookie closer to me.

"You are very graceful for such a big man, Eric," Sookie whispered. I smiled at her.

"I've always enjoyed dancing, but I haven't always been great at it. I loved the waltz when it was first introduced, but I was terrible at it. I guess I was a little too… aggressive; I hadn't yet learned the power of subtlety. The waltz was the first dance that allowed couples to really hold each other, and for that reason it was at first considered 'immoral'. It took a few years for it to become an acceptable dance in polite company. That gave me time to learn it better, so that by the time it did become accepted, I had somewhat mastered it."

"The waltz was considered immoral at first?" Sookie asked. "That seems so strange since it's considered so traditional – rather old-fashioned—now. When did it become acceptable?"

"There were German peasant dances related to the waltz that date all the way back to the sixteenth century, but the waltz as we know it today came about in the area around Vienna around the mid-1700's. It was completely accepted in Vienna about 1780, and then it was accepted in the rest of western Europe around the time of Napoleon. By the mid-1800's it was a standard dance in every ballroom.

My comments were followed by Sookie's musical laughter, "I just love that you not only know all this stuff, but you lived it! That is so amazing…"

I smiled down at her, "I've never had anyone I wanted to share all this with. You're the first." At that confession she gave me a look of utter devotion, and I could feel the love she had for me. That caused me to take a deep breath. I once again wondered what I could have ever done to deserve such a one as she.

We looked into each other's eyes without speaking for a few more moments. Finally, I looked up and noticed Rasul and Pamela dancing near us. They seemed to be engaged in quite the interesting conversation. I nudged Sookie to look, and she smiled at them and their closeness to each other. They looked amazing on the dance floor together.

Sookie whispered again to me, "I thought Pam liked the fairer sex?"

"Generally, she does. But you must understand, Sookie, that sex is different for vampires. Very few vampires are only one way or another for their entire existence. We have centuries to experiment and try just about everything. And we do…"

"Really?" she asked coyly.

"Oh yes. So Pamela, while normally enjoying the sexual company of women, is with a very handsome man tonight. I would be surprised if they didn't make the most of that later tonight, especially since Rasul is not only handsome but also charming. It probably won't last, but I've felt a rather strong connection between them in the last couple days. After all, Pam has apparently found someone who enjoys shopping nearly as much as she does."

"I guess people have based relationships on less," Sookie said. Then we both began laughing. By then the song was ending, and a fast song was beginning. I took Sookie's hand and led her to the buffet.

"Have you had anything to eat tonight?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Excellent. I want you to tell me if my chef is as good as he thinks he is. Let's get you some food." She took a plate and started to fill it with different offerings from the buffet. Eventually, we made it back to our seats, and she began to eat. As she ate, she made those wonderful noises that I had come to associate with good food. I smiled at that.

"This is all so good. I think these are the best au gratin potatoes I've ever had."

"Good to know," I said, and then I leaned in to whisper, "have I told you how hard you make me when you make your … yummy noises?"

At that she turned bright pink, "Eric!" She put down her fork and raised her napkin to her face, "I may never be able to eat in front of you again."

I started laughing, "oh yes, you will." I picked up her fork and loaded it with something green and raised it to her mouth. She just looked at me, and then she opened her mouth as I fed her. She began chuckling as she chewed her food and took the fork from my hand.

"Hold on, I've got an idea. I'll be right back," she said as she got up and crossed back to the far end of the buffet. She returned with a small plate with something dark brown on it. "Remember the other day when I asked you if you had ever tasted chocolate?" I nodded. "Well now, you are going to get to."

"Sookie, I can't eat that."

She just laughed, "I know that, silly, I'm going to eat some of this chocolate cake, and then you are going to kiss me. How does that sound?" What a clever girl.

"Sounds like heaven to me. Let's conduct your scientific experiment."

"OK, then, just let me take a few bites." She did, and she made the yummy noises even more than usual. I don't know if the cake was that much better, or if she was just fucking with me. It didn't matter either way; I loved those noises. I rested my elbow on the table and my chin on my palm as I watched her eat. After a few bites she asked, "are you ready to taste some chocolate?" I simply nodded my head and went in for the kiss.

There was a little bit of the frosting on the corner of her mouth which my tongue scooped up as it entered her mouth. OK, now I understood what all the fuss was about. Chocolate was amazing! And that was what I tasted like to her? Maybe I let the kiss go on for longer than necessary for just a taste. "For the first time in centuries, you make me wish I could eat food. No wonder you like chocolate so much. That was great!" I told her. Her smile just beamed at me, and I joined my forehead to hers. "Thank you, my Sookie, for sharing chocolate with me."

"You are very welcome, my Eric," she replied. We just stayed there, forehead to forehead, for a few moments. She pulled back first and took a sip of champagne. She then looked at the dance floor, "I can't believe that Rasul and Pam are still dancing."

"Why? They don't get tired, they don't sweat, and apparently they are having a good time," I shrugged.

In the next moment, an older gentleman and his wife stopped by the table. I rose to greet him. "Mr. Northman?" he asked, and I nodded. He extended his hand, "I am James Gaylord, the mayor of Shreveport, and this is my wife Mitzi. I just wanted to thank you for donating this space for this most worthy cause."

I shook his hand and nodded, "Mayor, Mrs. Gaylord, allow me to introduce Sookie Stackhouse, my girlfriend."

Sookie stood and accepted both their hands as well, "it's so very nice to meet you."

Mitzi spoke first, "it's so very nice to meet you too, dear. And I'm so glad that you are doing so well after everything that has been happening to you. You are a very brave young woman."

Sookie blushed, "thank you, Mrs. Gaylord. Eric has made sure of my safety."

The mayor answered, "yes, we've all been entranced by the story. We are very proud to have someone like Mr. Northman as a member of our community." I nodded in gratitude to him again.

At this point Rasul and Pam returned to our table, "Mayor, Mrs. Gaylord, may I introduce my business partner Pamela and my brother Rasul. Pam, Rasul, the mayor of Shreveport and his lovely wife." They all shook hands.

Mitzi added, "oh dear, we've been watching the two of you dance together so beautifully. Have you been together long?"

Rasul chuckled, "Actually, this is our first date."

She blushed a little and seemed very surprised, "really? You look like you have been dancing together for ages."

Pamela surprised me with her response, "well, thank you, Mrs. Gaylord. It's easy to dance when your partner is so good." She smiled, looked at Rasul, and slid her hand around his elbow. He put his other hand on top of hers. They really did make a smashing couple.

The mayor had a question, "Mr. Northman, the city is contemplating opening a business park near the Old Trace Bayou north of the city. I'd like to talk to you about it when you have the time."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a card to hand to him. "Here's my card, give me a call, and we can set up a meeting."

"Very good. Well, we won't monopolize your time any further, it was very nice to meet you all, and I hope you enjoy your evening."

Everyone responded likewise, and the mayor and his wife departed. Sookie chimed in, "now I see what you meant by networking."

I nodded, "I've made a few good deals at these events. It doesn't in any way diminish my support for the cause. Other businessmen are just too stupid to realize the potential profit of good will."

She smiled, "well, Eric, you are a lot of things, but stupid is definitely not one of them." I smiled with her. "I need to excuse myself, if you don't mind," she said as she stood.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

She blushed, "I need to go to the ladies room."

Of course she did; I felt slightly foolish. "Hold on, Pam, could you accompany Sookie to the ladies room?" Sookie's blush deepened, and she looked at me with wide eyes.

"Love to," Pam added.

"I'll go with them," Rasul said.

Sookie shook her head, "this is rather embarrassing."

"Sookie, I'd rather have you embarrassed than have anything bad happen to you. Understand?" I asked.

She nodded her head, and the three of them headed to the hallway in front of the ballroom. I took this opportunity to check on Sookie's bids in the silent auction. I knew that she'd seen things she'd liked, and I was determined that she would have them. After checking them out, I'd seen that the three silent auction baskets she was interested in ranged in value from three hundred to six hundred dollars. Her bids were starter bids of around fifty to seventy-five dollars. I simply placed bids of one thousand dollars on each. Those auction baskets were going home with her as far as I was concerned. I hesitated after her hesitation of accepting the jewelry that I'd brought her tonight, but I figured she wouldn't turn down something for a charity.

Feeling smug from my silent auction/Sookie maneuvers, I started to return to my table when I felt a huge spike of anger from both Sookie and Pam. I turned to walk toward the front hallway when I saw the three of them enter through the door to return to the ball. They stopped in front of me.

"Explain," I demanded. Sookie took my arm to lead us to our table. I looked at her, and she shook her head. I thought that I would give her a minute to get to our table before demanding an explanation again. Once we were all four settled back at our table (which by the way was set up, as all the tables were, for eight, but we seemed to have this table all to ourselves), I asked again for an explanation.

Sookie responded, "someone was rude to me in the restroom. That's all there was to it."

I just looked at her. The spike of anger I felt was pretty huge for just a simple rude statement. I looked at Pam.

"Some simpering socialite, we'll call her Bitchy Barbie, came up to Sookie and called her a fangbanging whore, and said that she deserved all the bad things that had happened to her in the last week or so, and that she would be lucky to live for a few more months. Then she completely contradicted herself and said that nothing at all probably happened, and that Sookie was, in addition to a fangbanging whore she called her earlier, probably a publicity whore as well. She further said that Sookie was a sad piece of work who thrived on attention."

I tried to take all that in, "what?"

Pam continued, "she had a definite hate-on for our girl here. I got in her face and dropped my fangs, which caused her either to expel smelly gas or to shit herself, I'm not exactly sure, but I proceeded to glamour her into thinking that she believed in the sanctity of the Roman Catholic sisterhood, and that God had called her, since she'd seen the image of Jesus in her pancakes, and that she should give all her worldly goods to the poor and join a convent."

I squinted my eyes, tilted my head and looked at Pam, and then Sookie. Sookie had a half smirk on her lips when she nodded. "Really?" I asked.

Sookie chuckled, "God forgive me, but that's exactly what Pam did, and I can honestly say that I'm not sorry."

I fought the urge to laugh, "what happened then?"

Pam continued, "she pulled off her jewelry," and Pam opened her hand to reveal said jewelry, "and she walked out the front door of the building, presumably to find the nearest Catholic church." She shrugged. "I'll take these up to the donations table for the hospital."

"Was she even Catholic?" I asked. All three of them just shrugged their shoulders. This was so absurd, that I couldn't help but laugh, and soon all three of them were joining in. Pam stood up with the jewelry in hand, and true to her word, she donated them to benefit the hospital.

When Pamela returned to the table, Rasul offered helpfully, "Well, maybe she'll live a happier, more purpose-filled life."

We all looked at him, and the utter sincerity of his statement settled among us for a minute before we all cracked up laughing, including, reluctantly, Rasul.

Another beautiful waltz began, and I extended my hand to Sookie, and we went to the dance floor. This waltz had a quicker tempo than the first one, but Sookie followed just as flawlessly as the first time. Gods, but I loved to waltz. I especially loved to waltz with Sookie. After the first waltz, which I'd danced very conservatively, I started allowing Sookie to spin-out and then back in to me. She never missed a step. We got swept up in the music, and the more I sent her on spin-out, the more beautifully we danced together. Suddenly I noticed that there were only a few couples on the dance floor. All those who remained were very adept at the spin-out. And when the dance finally ended, there was a huge round of applause for all of us. I hugged her tightly to myself.

The next song that started was a tango. I raised my eyebrow at Sookie to see if she was game. She lowered her face and waggled her eyebrows at me. OK, we were going to tango. I noticed that Rasul and Pam came to join us on the dance floor. I smiled and nodded to Rasul, which he returned. Then we were off. This dance would be where I truly learned the depths of Sookie's dancing experience. We stepped off, and took the floor. Most people were afraid of the tango, so besides us, Rasul and Pam, there were only two other couples up for the tango challenge. I stepped, stepped, stepped, and Sookie curled her legs between mine… and again. We continued to dominate the floor until only two couples were left, us and Rasul and Pam. By the end of the music we each bowed to the cheering audience. My Sookie didn't disappoint. At the end of the tango, Sookie and I had noticed that Rasul had bent Pam all the way back and kissed her. Based on the fact that Pam didn't flatten Rasul, I gathered that she didn't mind his kiss at all. Both couples of us returned to our table.

While we were there we were approached by our old friend, the reporter Cecile Peveto. She sat to my right, and we all turned toward her. "Mr. Northman, Miss Stackhouse, how are you doing this evening?" she asked.

I smiled at her, "we are doing very well, Miss Peveto, thank you for asking."

"After everything that has happened, I wonder how you are able to enjoy yourselves," she asked.

Sookie answered, "Miss Peveto, we have two choices. Let the circumstances control us, or rise above them. I think it's obvious which alternative we've selected."

Miss Peveto chuckled, "well done, then. Has the threat been totally contained then?"

I answered, "not really. If the current vampire ruling system remains in place, other monarchs might decide that they need to investigate what was so interesting about Sookie and her brother Jason. In fact, there have been numerous overtures of just such action from the monarch in Nevada."

"But surely after all of this news coverage, no monarch would be foolish enough to move against the Stackhouses. Would they?" she asked.

"One thing you need to understand, Miss Peveto, is that monarchs, some of them at least, pay very little attention to human news. They see themselves as above it all," I answered. "I understand that there are movements in the human legislature with possible aid from the vampire authority structure to change all that, but that change hasn't happened yet. Until it does, my Sookie is in danger. I must remain vigilant up and until those legal changes are not only enacted but also enforced."

Miss Peveto gulped, "so, the danger remains?"

Sookie answered, "yes, Miss Peveto. Although, I'm trying, with Eric's help, to go about my life as normally as possible. Isn't this a beautiful ball?"

Miss Peveto smiled, "yes, Sookie, it is. Are you having a good time tonight?"

Sookie smiled, "I'm trying to, Miss Peveto, I really am trying to."

Miss Peveto added, "Miss Stackhouse, Sookie, may I say that you are one of the bravest young women I have ever met. I am so proud to know you."

Sookie took a huge gulp of air, "wow, Miss Peveto, that means so much more than I can say. Thank you. And may I add that you seem to be a journalist of true integrity, and I hope that all kind of good things come your way." Thankfully, Sookie hadn't noticed the people walking by our table, stopping to gawk, and then moving on. It had been happening all night.

Miss Peveto chuckled, "well, thanks to you, Sookie, good things seem to be rolling my way." She smiled.

"I'm glad because you've been very fair to me and mine. I hope you get that big break you've been waiting for."

"How did you…?" Miss Peveto asked. "Never mind. I hope you have an enchanting evening, Sookie."

"Thank you, Miss Peveto. I hope you have one yourself," Sookie added.

Miss Peveto stood, "good evening, all." And she was gone.

Darcy Hunnicut, from the foundation, took the microphone once again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to remind you that we have about an hour left on our silent auction. If you are interested in any of the basket items, please make your bids now. In addition, we will have the live auction in about 30 minutes. Please check these higher ticket items out now. Finally, we welcome any challenge donations right now, and for the rest of the evening. Thank you."

Sookie asked, "what's a challenge donation?"

I smiled at her, "watch." That was all I said as I walked up to the bandstand. I whispered into Miss Hunnicut's ear, and she wrote something on a piece of paper and returned to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a challenge donation. Mr. Eric Northman, owner of the Bonne Chance Hotel and Casino, as well as Fangtasia, challenges all bar, hotel, and restaurant owners present tonight to donate ten thousand dollars to match his donation. Thank you so much, Mr. Northman."

The orchestra started back up with "At Last", and I grabbed Sookie's hand and took her to the dance floor. I held her tightly to me, luxuriating in the feel of her body.

"So that's what a challenge donation is. Do you think it will help?" Sookie asked.

I waggled my eyebrows at her, "we'll see. For now, let's just enjoy holding each other dancing to this beautiful song." We just moved fluidly together. The female vocalist was very, very talented. When that song ended, the song "Breathe(2 am)" started, and Sookie's eyes got really wide.

"I LOVE this song," she said. "I just think it's so, so pretty and profound." Well, of course I had to dance with her on a song she so obviously loved. That song was followed by another of Sookie's favorites, "Mad World." Even though these songs were somewhat melancholy, they were nonetheless beautiful to dance to. Finally, the song changed to "I'm Yours" which was originally by Jason Mraz. This was a somewhat happy song about discovering that your heart totally belongs to another. I smiled as Sookie and I danced to this particular song. After the song was over, we moved to sit at our table. We just stared into each other's eyes like a couple of big saps, and I was OK with that.

Directly, Miss Hunnicut came again to the microphone, "Thank you Eric Northman for the challenge donation at the last orchestra break. Everyone may be interested to know that thirteen other owners of restaurants, bars, and hotels met Mr. Northman's challenge, for a total challenge donation of one hundred and forty thousand dollars so far. Well done Shreveport/Bossier City!"

Soon after Paula Fuselier comes to our table. "Hello, Mr. Northman, I'm Paula Fuselier, the organizer of this year's ball. Thank you so much for all of your generosity to the Children's Hospital. We are looking forward to next year's fund raiser, and we are wondering what you might be willing to give?"

Sookie was the first to speak, "Ms. Fuselier, I'm Sookie Stackhouse, the co-owner of The Enchanted Forest. I would like to volunteer some plants for your silent auction, and also, depending on your theme, I'd like to offer the loan of some plants to decorate the ballroom."

"Well, thank you so much Miss Stackhouse. That is very generous of you. I'm sure we can come up with a theme that will merit that donation." She paused for a moment, "and may I say, Miss Stackhouse, that I didn't think you could possibly look any prettier than you did on television, but you are far more pretty in person." At that Sookie blushed and nodded in acknowledgement. Ms. Fuselier continued, "I will give you a call in the next few weeks to nail down what you can do for next year's ball."

Sookie smiled, "I look forward to hearing from you." And Ms. Fuselier left us. I looked out and saw Rasul and Pam on the dance floor. I pointed them out to Sookie. She looked out and saw them, too. She turned to me with her mouth wide open. Rasul and Pam were joined solidly at the mouth.

"I told you that I thought they would enjoy each other tonight, didn't I?" I asked.

"I know, but… " she replied.

"But what?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I don't know what. It just seems strange to me." She chuckled. She suddenly turned her head to the left. I'd never seen such a movement from her before. She leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Eric, I think the guy from Homeland Security is here. I just got a message, if you know what I mean, that a bomb was in the building. But why would there be a bomb in the building hosting a charity ball? Could this be one of those unexpected tests that Godric mentioned?"

"I think you may be right about that. Just remain calm, my love," I whispered into her ear. I stood up and walked to the left side of the ballroom. Just as I thought, I saw Mr. Pettigrew out of the corner of my eye. I didn't let on that I'd seen him, and I just walked on through the ballroom through the side door to the hall outside. I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and dialed Sookie. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" she answered.

"My Sookie, you were right, Homeland Security is sitting on the left hand side of the ballroom. I must conclude that this was indeed a test. Are you OK?"

"I am, my Eric," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Thank you for checking that out."

I walked around the exterior of the ballroom to the front doors we'd originally entered through. I then walked inside and walked directly to my Sookie. I sat down and practically pulled her into my lap. She turned her smile to me. We kissed sitting there, then just looked into each other's eyes.

Finally, Darcy Hunnicut walked up to the microphone again. "Ladies and Gentleman, we have the winners of the silent auction. As expected, I won the three baskets that Sookie had bid on. When I went to pick them up, she looked at me questioningly. But when I returned with them, she practically squealed in delight. She looked over the baskets with glee.

"My love, do you feel the need to stay for the live auction?" I asked Sookie.

"Is your real question, am I ready to be alone with you?" the little minx asked.

"I would say that would be a fair assessment," I smiled at her.

"Oh hell yeah, I've been ready for a while now," she answered.

I smiled at her, "so what are we waiting for?" I asked her.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Special thanks to all who hit that follow or favorite button; and there have been quite a few recently. Thanks to everyone who reviewed since the last chapter, many of you more than once, it is so, so appreciated, as of 5/14/17: princessspot5, Kyouki no Kitsune, ashmo2000, KattyByNature, MsNorthman, ciasteczko, The Vikings Succubus, fanfictionfan4444, Perfecta999, Asia25, BriiReader28, lhjhelm49, hummingbirdgrrl, snowmercy, tanseynz, Maison Deville


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – The Fun Part

I stood up and gestured for one of the staff people to gather the baskets to take to my penthouse. Meanwhile, Sookie gathered her purse and wrap. I glanced toward the dance floor, caught Rasul's eye, and gestured for him to come over to us. When he and Pam got back to the table, I told them, "Sookie and I are going to leave now. You two stay as late as you want and have fun. The limo will be available to you for the rest of the evening… should you need it."

Rasul smiled really big and said, "I think we can handle that." He turned to Pam and winked, to which she very characteristically rolled her eyes. But she didn't fool me; she was having a very good time with him. He knew it too. No one should ever confuse Rasul's congenial personality with a lack of insight into people.

I turned to Sookie, "are you sure you've danced enough? Had enough fun?"

She looked up at me with pure, sweet wickedness in her eyes, "I guess I could have danced a little more, but I have a feeling that the fun part of my evening hasn't even started..." Then she raised a single eyebrow, and I felt my cock twitch at the sight. Well, allrighty then. I let out a deep breath as I looked straight up to the ceiling. When I looked back down, she had angled her face to me in the most provocative way. By the gods, she was so, so hot. And the beauty of it was that I knew she wasn't playing me; she was just this naturally sexy. I looked over at Rasul and Pam, and they both had matching raised eyebrows and matching grins.

We turned to leave, only to find Homeland Security standing right in front of us. I nodded at him, "Agent Pettigrew, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

He looked at the four of us, "Mr. Northman, Miss Stackhouse, and Rasul isn't it? I never did catch your full name."

"My name is Rasul al Basir," Rasul nodded.

Homeland Security wrote that down. "And who is your lovely girlfriend?"

I answered, "this is my business partner, Pamela Ravenscroft." She nodded to Homeland Security.

"Mr. al Basir, do you work for Sophie Ann LeClerq?"

"I did. I do no longer," Rasul answered.

I decided to intercede, "Mr. Pettigrew, might we take this conversation somewhere else? We are in the middle of an enchanting ball, and there are many people here with whom I do business. Might we go to one of the conference rooms?"

"After you, Mr. Northman," Homeland Security gestured. So much for our clean get-away. We all went through the entry and down the hall. I walked up to the front desk and told them I needed a conference room, and the concierge told me which one was available. And I led us there. A few moments after we were seated, the concierge came in with a pitcher of water and glasses. I thought that Sookie might be frightened by the appearance of Homeland Security, but the emotion I was getting from her was more like annoyance. Not so oddly, I was getting the same emotion from Pam.

I started, "Mr. Pettigrew, we were having a very pleasant evening. This kind of night was long overdue for my Sookie. I hope we can conduct this interview quickly and get back to our much-deserved fun."

Homeland Security ignored my comment, "exactly when did you stop working for Ms. LeClerq, Mr. al Basir?"

Rasul looked him directly in the eye, "the night the news starting breaking on television. I tried to tell Queen Sophie Ann that I had known for a while that Eric and Sookie were together, that he and the Stackhouses were long-time business partners, and that if I had known she was in any way interested in the Stackhouses, that I would have told her as much."

"What did she say or do?"

This was a tricky treason question, but Rasul found a relatively safe answer, "let's just say my comments were not well-received. In fact, I barely made it out of there to see another night."

"She fired you?" Homeland Security asked. All three vampires in the room chuckled.

"No, she didn't," was all Rasul said.

Homeland Security pressed, "I don't understand."

Sookie answered, "Mr. Pettigrew, I think what Rasul is trying to say without saying it, is that the queen tried to kill him." Rasul lifted his eyebrows in agreement.

"Ah, yes. That ever-present treason threat," Homeland Security stated. This time all three vampires nodded their heads. Homeland Security just looked at all of us for a few moments.

"Mr. al Basir, where are you from… originally?"

"I beg your pardon?" Rasul asked.

"Where were you born, Mr. al Basir?" Homeland Security asked with irritation.

"I was born in Damascus."

"So, you're Syrian, then," he asked with a smirk.

"Not technically. The country of Syria didn't exist when I was born, but the city of Damascus did," Rasul countered. "When I was human the area was ruled by the descendents of Saladdin, then the Mongols invaded from the far east, won, then were defeated, so the area was ruled then by the Mamluks of Egypt. This all happened when I was human."

Homeland Security just stared at Rasul for a long time, "were you a soldier?" Seriously, did he think Rasul might be a part of the current ISIS threat coming out of that region today? Was he seriously going to try to make a case for that and what? Try to deport him?

Rasul smiled, "no, my family were silk merchants."

After another silence Pam said, "well that explains a lot." We all looked at her puzzled, and she continued, "it explains why Rasul likes to go clothes shopping with me… and why he has exquisite taste." I couldn't help but have a little snort of laughter at that; maybe she was right. I also thought it was time for this interview to come to an end.

Finally, I asked, "Mr. Pettigrew why are you here tonight? What do you need from us that couldn't possibly wait until tomorrow?"

He ignored me again, "Mr. al Basir, what was your job title when working with Ms. LeClerq?" This guy had gone way past pissing me off at this point.

Rasul looked at me before answering, "Court Liaison Officer"

"What were your duties?"

"I kept the queen's calendar, I was the intermediary for anyone who wanted to have an audience with the queen, or for anyone she wanted to see. I was also in charge of hospitality on the queen's behalf to those who might be visiting her court."

"Did you ever witness Ms. LeClerq doing anything illegal?"

Oh, come on. Homeland Security knew that Rasul couldn't answer that question. Rasul just raised one eyebrow but kept his mouth shut. This guy was an asshole, and I needed to put a stop to this interview.

"Mr. Pettigrew, for days we've been very forthcoming with many aspects of vampirism, most notably what would be considered treasonous under our current power structure. Why would you ask a direct question to which you obviously already know the answer and that you know Rasul can't possibly answer under threat of the true death?" I asked.

Homeland Security just looked at each of us. "Yes, Mr. Northman, you've been very forthcoming. You've been very forthcoming about how convenient certain aspects of being a vampire are. You can't break a maker's command, you can't betray the monarch. I'm beginning to think that just maybe these conveniences are just _convenient_ ways to avoid obeying the law."

We all just sat there in stunned silence. Finally, Sookie spoke, "Wow, Mr. Pettigrew. That was a really ugly and uncalled-for thing to say. Especially to people who have bent over backwards to help you."

I just looked at her, "Sookie…"

"No, Eric. All I wanted was one night, just one night, where all of this, this, this… garbage wasn't front and center in my life. And I was finally having such a good time, and this nasty little man had to show up and ruin it," she narrowed her eyes at Homeland Security and seemed to think for a moment, and I mentally swore that somehow I would make Homeland Security pay for destroying my Sookie's pleasure this evening. "Mr. Pettigrew, are we under arrest? You know, the victims and those who have tried to help save them from the bad guys. Are any of us under arrest?" she asked.

"No, Miss Stackhouse, but we have very serious questions we need answered," Homeland Security said.

Sookie stood up, "in that case, you can speak to us at another time – a time when we aren't out in public in a place where we've just donated a lot of money to a very worthy cause. I believe my attorney already told you not to question me without having him present. So if you'll excuse us." She turned to look at us, "gentlemen, Pam," she said as she started moving from her chair. I smirked as we all followed her lead and rose. Homeland Security remained seated.

"I wasn't finished, Miss Stackhouse," he said.

I answered, "but we are. At least for this evening. Also, since you have taken such an antagonistic stance against us, I must insist on behalf of myself, Pamela, and Rasul, that we no longer wish to be questioned by you without our attorneys present either. Good night, Mr. Pettigrew." I took Sookie's hand and led her through the conference room door, followed by Pam and Rasul. I motioned for all of them to follow me. We got on the elevator to the penthouse.

While we were riding to the top floor, Pam looked at Sookie, "well, Princess, I'm glad you're on our side." There was a moment of silence before we all chuckled.

When the elevator stopped we got out into the lobby before the penthouse. I turned to Pam and Rasul, "I don't know if you want to go back to the ball or not, but remember the limo is yours for the rest of the evening. I told the concierge to have it waiting for you when I got us a conference room. If you are going to leave, try not to let Homeland Security stop you on your way out. I'd suggest using vamp-speed to get to the car." They nodded. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Good evening, Sookie, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night," Rasul smiled as he took Pam's hand and got back on the elevator.

Once they were gone, I took Sookie into my arms. "Let go of what just happened. Let's get back to enjoying our night. Can you do that for me, my Sookie?"

"I want to, Eric, I really want to," she answered. She looked up at me with a small smile, "I'll give it my best shot." I smiled back her.

"Good girl. Now, are you ready to begin the truly fun part of your evening," I asked, waggling my eyebrows. That made her giggle. "Close your eyes." She did. "No peaking until I say so." She giggled again, and I picked her up to carry her bridal-style into the penthouse. I shut the door behind me and walked into the living room, "No peaking."

She was full-on giggling now, "ok, ok, ok. My eyes are closed until you tell me to open them."

I was very pleased that my day man had managed to get everything set up that I asked for, and it looked even better than I had expected. Once I was in the center of the living room I told her, "ok, you can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes and gasped, "Oh my God, Eric. I have no words for this; to say it's beautiful… amazing…" she shook her head, "those words just seem so inadequate."

I had designed the room just for her. There was greenery across every horizontal surface with huge flower arrangements throughout the penthouse. In addition, there were hundreds of candles flickering with the main lights turned off. I had also requested those white Christmas lights be put up in swooping arcs from the ceiling all over the apartment. I had hoped to create a beautiful fairy-land for my fairy. I set her down on her feet, and I grabbed the remote control and started the music I had picked ahead of time – soft, smooth jazz with a lot of beautiful saxophone. I reached up and untied my bow tie. Sookie was wandering around the room taking it all in, so I took that opportunity to slip my tux jacket off and onto the armchair along with the tie, and then unbuttoned the top couple buttons of my shirt. I put my hands in my pockets as I watched my beautiful lover sniff the flowers and finally just spin in place as she enjoyed the setting of the room.

When she stopped spinning she hugged herself and just looked at me. "I love you so much, Eric. I don't think that anyone has ever done so much for someone else in such a short space of time as you have done for me. It boggles my mind. I just keep thinking, how in the heck did I get so, so lucky?"

I noticed that there were unshed tears in her eyes. I walked to her and took her into my arms, "I ask myself the same exact question all the time. Well, not exactly… I actually think how in the _hell_ did I get so, so lucky?"

That made her laugh. "Well, obviously you weren't raised by my Gran; she was a real stickler for no swearing. Although, I do let an occasional swear word slip now and then." She seemed to think that statement over for a second, "I think swear words have more impact if you don't use them all the time. Don't you agree?"

I nodded my head, "fuck, yeah." She cracked up, and I just smirked. "I wanted you to have a completely magical night, better than when we went to the ballet. I'm sorry that asshole from Homeland Security ruined your night."

She shook her head, "I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean it, exactly. I just wanted _him_ to feel bad, which is apparently not possible." She paused for a moment, "Eric, this _has_ been a magical night. Let's stop thinking of that a-hole, and get back to creating more magic. Kay?" Now it was her turn to waggle her eyebrows.

"Oh, Lover, I've got a few tricks I've been wanting to try out with you…"

"Well, show me what ya got, cowboy," she challenged with a fierce grin.

Ah, gauntlet thrown. I said to her, "dance with me, Sookie. This is the sexiest music I know."

"Happily, Eric," she replied. And we danced holding each other, and finally, I kissed her. I felt my erection grow with the swell of the saxophone in the music, but I continued dancing and kissing. I felt and heard her panting as I moved away from her lips to kiss her temple, her ear, her earlobe, her neck, as my hand lowered the zipper in the back of her beautiful white gown. I slid it off her shoulders, and it dropped and pooled at her feet. I lifted her up so that she could step out of the dress-pool. In return, she rested her forehead against the base of my neck as she unbuttoned my vest and my shirt, and then pushed them off of my body.

We looked into each other's eyes, and we were both smiling. We continued to dance, with me only dressed in my pants and shoes, and with her tan body she only had on her white lace bra and white lace panties and her high heels. Right now, my Sookie was every man's fantasy… Gods, did it get any sexier than this? Then she took a nip at my neck, and I thought I would come in my trousers right then. "By the gods, Sookie, you are the sexiest woman who has ever lived."

She chuckled softly, "I doubt that, Eric, but A+ for sweet talk."

"Sookie, I have never been more sincere about anything in more than a thousand years. You Are The Sexiest Woman I've Ever Known. I know you think it's too soon, but I want to share my forever with you and only you." I looked at her with all the love in my heart, with all the love in my soul. And then the tears started falling from her eyes. I reached up to wipe them away, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Please stop, your tears make me feel disturbingly human."

She laughed softly, "Oh, Eric, you big doofas. These are happy tears. You make me so very happy. I love you so much." She pulled my head down to kiss her again. This time while kissing her I reached behind her and unhooked her bra, followed the straps down her arms until it fell to the floor. I backed up for a moment to enjoy the view. Her breasts were so perfect. I reached up to cup one; it was both soft and firm. I knelt down to take it into my mouth, and Sookie shuddered. After I had properly worshipped one breast, I paid equal attention to the other, and by then Sookie was starting to breathe heavily. I took a moment to rest my forehead against the center space just above her breasts.

"Sookie, my love?" I asked.

"Yes, Eric," she whispered breathily.

"How attached are you to these panties?"

"What do you mean?" she asked confused and then I ripped them off of her, and she giggled, "I guess, not all that much. Do you want me to slip my shoes off?"

"NO! Leave the shoes on," I answered. They were strappy white sandals with crystals all over them, with four inch heels – they were very sexy. Plus they made her the perfect height for me to be on my knees in front of her. I resumed suckling her breasts while my fingers went to work much lower. Soon, she became a little unsteady on her feet, so I placed one hand on her back for support, but continued to work her bundle of nerves with my thumb while inserting other fingers inside her. It didn't take long before she had her first orgasm of the evening. I looked up at her and licked her juices from my fingers, and my eyes rolled back in my head, "this is better than chocolate." That made her chuckle a bit.

Then I took her right leg and place it with the thigh resting on my shoulder. This opened her up in the most beautiful way. And I let my mouth have its way with her until I could tell that she was coming again. I kissed my way up her body while I unfastened and dropped my pants, and also kicked off my shoes. By the time I was standing again, I was completely naked. I kissed her on the mouth and held her tightly to me, "by the gods, Sookie, you are so passionate and beautiful." Since we were standing behind the sofa, I bent her over the back of it and entered her slowly, and it felt like coming home. Once fully inside I just stayed still for a moment, enjoying being joined with her this way. Then slowly I started to move within her. I had wanted her so much since the last time we were together this way that I could tell that it wouldn't take long for me to come. That was all right since we had the rest of the night together. Soon I was speeding up, and just as I thought, I came shouting nonsensical things in Old Norse. I rested my forehead on her back this time. When I'd recovered enough, I withdrew and turned her around to just hug her and allow her to catch her breath. We just stood there hugging each other for a long time.

Finally Sookie asked, "that was so… "

"So what?" I asked.

"So intense," she answered and we both sighed. "I thought the idea of the sleepover was to make love in a bed…"

"Oh, we will, my Sookie. We are far from done for the evening." I took her hand and led her to my bedroom, where there were hundreds of candles burning. I took a few moments to explain to her how the light-tight security measures worked in case she wanted to get out of the room during the day. "But I really hope you'll be here when I rise," I looked at her almost pleadingly.

"I think that might be do-able," she winked. "Now, can I take these shoes off? My feet are starting to hurt."

At that I chuckled, walked her back to sit on the end of the bed, and knelt down to undo the tiny buckles and remove them from her feet. I massaged her feet for a few minutes, and she made the most wonderful approval moaning noises. Afterward, I stood and went to pull down the covers from the bed and beckoned her to join me as we both climbed in after Sookie had removed the pins holding her hair up and had shaken it free.

At first we just lay facing each other. I reached over and put a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you, Sookie. I'm sorry if I say that too much, but I've never felt this way before."

She smiled at me, "I don't think it's possible to say that too much to someone, Eric. I love you just as much, you know." I nodded my head because I could feel just how much she loved me.

She was silent for a moment before she asked, "what do you think that agent from Homeland Security was after tonight?"

Ah, so we were going to have a serious discussion, "I'm not sure. I think he was looking for a way to arrest Rasul. When he figured out he couldn't do it because of his position in Sophie Ann's court, then he was trying to tie Rasul to the current terrorism threats from Syria. Or at least that's what it seemed like to me."

"He could have surmised that Rasul worked for the queen from what happened at my house the other night, I guess, but I do think that someone has been talking to the agent. He has obviously been told about my telepathy; otherwise, why would he have tried that bomb threat strategy?"

"He may or may not have surmised that. When Victor Madden, the second for the king of Nevada, was in my office the other night, he more or less threatened to turn Rasul in to the authorities. But you are right, either Bill Compton or Sophie Ann herself must have spilled the beans on your telepathy." I thought for a moment, "that doesn't necessarily mean that statements from them are true, though. Sophie Ann was just guessing from what Hadley told her, right?" Sookie nodded. "There may be other tests, but as long as they don't succeed, there is no reason for anyone to ultimately believe the crazy queen. Besides, most humans will find the existence of fairies highly unlikely."

"A few years ago, humans found the existence of vampires unlikely, too," she countered.

"But there is one major difference. In myth and legend, vampires, as well as Weres and witches, had once been human. Fairies, on the other hand, are the stuff of complete fantasy in myth and legend. Without concrete proof, humans would be unlikely to believe in those myths."

She thought about that, "you know, you're right. First, that agent would have to believe in the possibility of fairies, and if he could wrap his head around that, then he'd have to believe in their powers. I think the fact that none of his questions were aimed at me tonight might mean that since I didn't fall for the bomb threat scenario, that he is dismissing the fairy notion. I mean, all of his questions were aimed at Rasul."

"Let's not assume the 'fairy' threat is over from him. It may be, but it is still good to be on your guard. There may be other tests, and he may still try to test your brother. As I always say, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

Sookie chuckled, "good motto."

"Now, that we have that settled… " I rolled on top of her and kissed her. As I continued to kiss her, I entered her and started moving. Yes, this was right, this was best. "Sookie, may I drink from you?" I asked as I continued to stroke in and out of her.

"Yes, please," she panted. I didn't need to be told twice. I licked her neck and eased my fangs in and drank. She started panting harder at that and just as I was taking my last mouthful, she came again. I healed her neck and proceeded to thrust faster in and out of her. Her fingernails scratched up and down my back, and it felt glorious. I varied the tempo of my thrusts and just continued to ride.

Finally, I rolled us so that Sookie was on top. She placed her hands on either side of my head and went for her own ride. Her position placed her breasts right in my line of vision, and I watched mesmerized as they bounced back and forth. I placed my hands on her behind to help her with her up and down, and her breasts bounced even more. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer and I took one of them into my mouth and sucked. Hard. She made a little squeaking noise at that, but I could tell from her feelings that she liked it. Well, well, well… It seemed that just a little pain was a turn-on for my Sookie. I switched to the other breast and sucked even a little harder, then bit and drew blood. At that she screamed with what seemed the biggest orgasm yet. I started to heal those wounds, but she stopped me.

"No, leave them. I want them. They'll remind me of how good you made me feel."

Well, allrighty then. While we continued making love, I realized just how screwed I was. No woman would ever be good enough for me after my Sookie. Not that I wanted another woman. But even worse, no blood would ever taste good to me, either. Sookie was IT for me. Possibly until the end of time. What would I do if… when… if… she died. That thought overwhelmed me, and an uncontrollable tear escaped my eye. Sookie must have noticed it, because she looked puzzled at first, and then she reached down and popped the tear into her mouth.

Once the blood tear was in her mouth, the tie that I had with her opened wider. Uh oh. I would need to tell her about this. But first, I rolled her back over, put her legs up on my shoulders, and we both finished with blazing orgasms.

Finally, I pulled out of her, and went back to facing her under the covers. "Sookie, there's something I need to tell you." She nodded. I took an unnecessary gulp and continued, "When you took in my tear just now… well I felt the tie between us grow wider, deeper."

"What does that mean?"

"I think it means we just had a second exchange. Remember I told you that a permanent bond happened after three mutual exchanges?" She nodded. "Well, now we are just one exchange away from that."

"Oh, Eric, I'm so sorry. I didn't know; I didn't mean to…"

I cut her off and took her face into my hands, "No, Sookie, don't apologize. I'm not sorry. I want us to bond, remember? I just wanted to make sure that you knew what had happened, because I would never keep something like that from you."

"You really want to spend forever with me, don't you?"

"I really do," I replied. I hesitated to ask the next question, but I had to know, "have you ever thought about becoming a vampire?"

She paused, "no, not really. Not before now." She shifted a little, "Eric, I'm sky fae, the sun is my life-source. It's hard for me to contemplate not having that. Is that why you had a tear? You were thinking of me dying?"

I nodded, "that and so much more. You are the one for me, Sookie. I can't ever be with another woman, and it would be difficult for me to drink another's blood."

"But you could drink other blood if you had to, right?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes, of course, but any other blood would taste vile to me at this point. Do not worry, Sookie. I drank mostly bagged blood even before I met you."

"Really? I thought you had the reputation for being quite the playboy. Was none of that true?"

"Probably some of it was true, but I wasn't quite the, what was it you called Jason, horndog?, that my reputation made me out to be. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a monk. But certain aspects of my exploits were likely exaggerated."

She giggled at that. "Well, the good news is, since Jason and I both have the essential spark, we are likely to live much, much longer than a normal human. I think that may be one of the reasons it's hard for Jason to settle down with just one girl. He knows without a doubt that he will outlive her by a long, long time." She paused before she continued, "that, and he really is a horndog." We both laughed at that. "In other words, my Eric, I have a lot of time to think about becoming a vampire before I start looking like your grandmother."

I grabbed her to me and kissed her as I had never kissed her before, "oh, Sookie, you make me so happy. And if you do decide to bond with me, that will keep you looking young even longer!"

"So stop worrying about it, then," she yawned.

"It's getting late; you should get some sleep."

"I want to stay up with you, but I have to confess I'm getting sleepy. What will you do if I go to sleep?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm just happy to have someone with me. I've never had another join me in my day rest."

"Really? Ever?" I shook my head. "Wow, I feel really honored," she yawned again. "Could you just hold me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She turned her back to me, and we just spooned together. Soon, I could hear her breathing even out, indicating that she had fallen asleep, and I just went into blissful downtime. As dawn neared, the shutters on the windows closed. I had a very wicked thought about how I wanted my Sookie to wake up later in the day. I pulled her closer, and I entered her softly as she slept. And that is how I let my day rest take me.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Well, fanfiction seemed to fix itself with the posting of the last chapter. Finally. I could tell because not only did I get an email notice that the chapter was up, but I got perhaps the largest number of reviews for a chapter to date. As of today, I had 23 people leave 30 reviews. Yay! However, as there are 116 followers and 65 favorites for this story, that means there are a lot of … 'freeloaders' out there. So to quote that wise sage, Lafayette, "tip your waitress!"

Special thanks to all who did review, I so, so appreciate it, as of 5/20/2017: VampMad50, Asami's clown, princessspot5, The Vikings Succubus, ljhjelm49, Perfecta999, jackie69, E. B. Rhone, jazzma18, Duckbutt, hummingbirdgrrl, Tanseynz, mycajunlover, Suzymeinen, pnwer, Jadajuice, SnowMercy, lisabit, MsNorthman, Jfozz, ashmo2000, ciasteczko, elsie bailey – Thank you all so much!


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Outnumbered

4:23 p.m. Sunday

Eyes pop open, reach for Sookie… What the fuck? Where is she? I was so hoping she would be right here when I rose for the evening. I tuned into my senses. The sheets were cool but filled with her scent. I could smell that there had been food in the penthouse at some time today. I could just hear a soft gurgling noise. I rolled out of bed, stretched out of habit, and proceeded to follow the sound. It was coming from the bathroom. Ah… my Sookie had found my hot tub.

I tried the doorknob; it was unlocked. I silently entered and peeked around the shower stall to find Sookie submerged in the hot tub with her back to me. She had both arms stretched out to either side on the top of the tub, her head thrown back, and her eyes closed. A few steps closer revealed that she was completely naked in there. This hot tub was circular and big enough for four, or two – if one of them was a rather large Viking. I knelt down next to her ear and whispered, "are you enjoying yourself?"

She let out a little scream and popped up, "for the love of… Eric! You scared the bejesus out of me." I couldn't help laughing, and she joined with me. "You don't mind, do you? I just found this giant honkin' tub with all these jets… I couldn't resist."

I was climbing into the tub opposite her, and I shrugged. "Well, I had hoped to wake with you naked in my arms, but I'm really glad you are still here naked in this tub. Anything in the apartment is yours to use as you will." I began running my right foot up and down her left leg. She grinned wickedly and put her right foot right up onto my left thigh. I grabbed that foot and rubbed it as well.

"Yes, I woke up in quite the interesting predicament. You were holding on to me in just about every way that you could, you wicked frat boy." We both laughed again.

"Couldn't help myself. Just couldn't seem to get close enough to you." At that I gently jerked her foot toward me, bringing her off of the built-in seat and into the middle of the tub, where I joined her. She put her arms around my neck.

"It took quite a bit of… maneuvering to disentangle myself."

"Maneuvering, eh? I'm surprised I didn't wake for that."

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't either," she grinned, "given some of the … more creative entanglements."

I smiled widely at that and brought my mouth to hers for a searing wake-up kiss. "Good morning, my beautiful Sookie."

She rubbed her nose with mine, "mmmmm, good _afternoon_ , my gorgeous Eric."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my cheek against hers, "still quite a while until good evening…" I pulled her onto my lap with her legs straddling my waist.

She closed her eyes and mumbled, "so what should we do with all this time on our hands?" I lifted her and brought her down, gently impaling her on me. "Oh!... OK….. "

She backed up, with eyes still closed, her arms still around my neck, and she started undulating… almost as if she were dancing to some song only she could hear. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my long, long life. I wanted to say something sexy to her, but I somehow forgot that I had to take a breath in order to make sounds. Along with her undulations I was having the best sex I'd ever had. I felt myself starting to pant! "By the gods, Sookie, I love you so fucking much," I gasped out.

"I know, Eric, I can feel it so clearly," she responded. All I could do was enjoy her ride.

Wait a minute…. What? "Sookie, you can feel my feelings?"

"Oh course. Isn't that what is supposed to happen with the increasing blood tie?" How she managed to get that entire sentence out with what she was doing was nothing short of a miracle.

She was so, so sexy. What were we talking about? Oh, yeah… "no, my Sookie. This is most unusual. Usually the human in a blood tie or bond isn't able to feel the vampire until the third and final exchange."

"Ah," she shrugged. She kept going with her movements, and I grasped the edges of the hot tub hard enough to crack the tile there. She continued breathily with her thoughts, "I guess that makes sense. I'm not exactly human, you know." By now her fingernails were scratching sideways across my back.

I struggled to tell her, "yes, my love, for which I am becoming more and more thankful." I was not going to be able to hold out much longer. She started clenching her channel in time with her undulations, and I lost it. "Sweet Freya…" I screamed. She followed me in her own bliss. We were both panting for a moment.

"No," she sighed, "just sweet Sookie…" That was fucking hilarious, and I started to laugh. Soon she joined me. Afterward, we just held each other.

"Oh, my Sookie, will nothing ever just be normal between us?" I asked.

She placed sweet kisses across my forehead, on my eyelids, on the tip of my nose, and finally quickly on my lips. "I have always found normal to be highly overrated, Eric."

I chuckled, "well said, my royal fairy princess." Again, we both laughed. Gods but I adored this woman. I had never had so much genuine fun with a woman, with anyone, in over a thousand years. I had an amazing feeling of… of… feeling so one with the world. Even the word happiness seemed ultimately inadequate. What I was feeling was… something I'd never felt before – a sense of 'wholeness'. I felt the ultimate connection to the universe. I almost shook my head because those thoughts, while absolutely true, seemed somewhat… corny, and more than a little bit – too good to be true.

Then my thoughts shifted. "What did you do today? After you rose… that is."

She looked around, "well… after I liberated myself from the complicated and quite heavy snares you set for me in your bed…" she paused, and I smiled, "I was hungry. So, I got up and ordered room service. I figured since I was with the owner of the hotel, that the sky was my breakfast/lunch limit. So… I ordered steak and eggs, potatoes, English muffin, fruit, and… wait for it…" she started doing a drum roll on my shoulders, "French toast!" I had no idea of the specifics of these foods, but I got the general gist of her joke and laughed.

"What else?" I asked.

"Do you even know how many Sunday papers you get here?" she asked. I shook my head. "Well, a whole bunch. Do they just throw them all away if you aren't here for the night before?" I just shrugged because I had no earthly idea. "Anyway, I looked through all those papers and there are pictures of us in almost every one."

Really? "You'll have to show me, Lover," I responded reaching for a towel.

"Eric, don't we have to wait for dark for you to leave your bedroom area?"

I waggled my eyebrows at her, then I extended my hand to her and dried her off as she emerged from the tub. "Come with me." We went to the security panel next to the bedroom door, and I punched in a code. I watched her as she listened to the sounds of the light-tight shutters sliding in place throughout the entire penthouse. She smiled and put on a robe while I threw on black satin lounge pants. When everything was secure, I opened the door and we wandered to the living room where there were several newspapers on the coffee table. We sat down together, and she started pointing out the various publications.

"This is my favorite," she said as she picked up _The New York Times_. "Here we are on page one!" I looked and there was a picture of the two of us smiling at one another as we were entering the ball; she looked so lovely. "I never would have thought that I would ever be on the front page of _The New York Times_!" She continued to show me the pictures of us in the Shreveport paper, _The Wall Street Journal_ , and several others. Good. Very good, I thought. I grabbed the remote and turned the television on to a news channel. They were covering something else, so I turned it down while we just chatted for a while, but soon there was interesting coverage on the television, so I turned the sound back up.

"With the terrorist vampire queen in custody, attempted kidnap victim Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire beau Eric Northman took time to attend a charity ball last night in Bossier City to help raise funds for the Caddo Parish Children's Hospital. Here is a picture of them entering the ball, which was held in a hotel owned by Mr. Northman. Not only did Mr. Northman donate the use of the ballroom in his hotel, but he also donated thousands of dollars to the cause during the course of the evening. Clearly, not all vampires are terrorists. And we'll be back with more news after a few words from our sponsors."

I just shook my head; Godric was right about my appearance at the ball.

"What's so funny?" Sookie asked. I just looked at her because I hadn't laughed. "I can feel that you found something amusing," she shrugged.

This ability of hers to zero in on my feelings was going to take some getting used to. "I was just thinking about something that Godric said to me. He said that if the press got wind of my efforts for the charity ball that I might be considered a vampire saint, to use his words. Which is pretty funny since I've never even been a Christian."

"I think someone can act saint-like even if they aren't religious," Sookie added.

I looked at her for a moment, "I didn't say I wasn't religious, just that I had never been a Christian." She looked puzzled, so I elaborated, "I still worship the gods of my human life. I still see their hands in so many ways in the world around me. Always have. I even occasionally pray to them."

She just looked at me as if she were seeing me with new eyes. "That is so cool. Who would have thought?" She shook her head for a moment, "I hope that someday you will teach me all about them… your gods."

I smiled at her, "Some day…"

We continued to talk, to really talk and get to know each other better. Sookie wanted us to know the basics, as she called it, about one another. Things like what our favorite colors were: hers was green, which was unsurprising, and mine was red, also unsurprising. She told me her birthday was July 31st and wanted to know when mine was. She seemed clearly horrified that I had no idea. I explained to her that we didn't have calendars when I was human, so we not only had no sense of what year it was, but also no sense of months of the year. I told her that I was born in the summer, which was as much as I knew. She decided most definitively that we would both celebrate our birthdays on the same day from now on. I chuckled at the certainty and sheer exuberance of her decision. Her reasoning was that it didn't seem fair for her to celebrate her birthday while I had no celebration for mine, and she was most assuredly going to celebrate her birthday. Well allrighty then.

We had decided to go to dinner once the sun set, but about a half hour before dark, Sookie's phone rang. She answered, and I could hear that it was her grandmother on the other end, and something was wrong. "Gran, take a deep breath; I can't understand what you're saying."

After a breathing pause I could hear Adele clearly, "Sookie, it's Jason. He's missing."

Sookie looked at me, "Gran, are you sure? Maybe he's with some lady-friend of his somewhere. You know how he is."

"No, Sookie. Hoyt went over to his house this afternoon because they were supposed to get together. Hoyt found Jason's truck running with the driver's door wide open, but Jason was nowhere to be found. And Sookie, my stars, there was a lot of blood in the area." All of the color drained from Sookie's face. Adele continued, "Sheriff Dearborn is investigating. Can you please come home Sookie?"

Sookie seemed incapable of speaking. I gave her a moment, but she still couldn't speak so I took the phone from her hands, "Adele, this is Eric. I'll have Sookie home as soon as I can. Are either of the Britlingens there with you?"

"Clovache is here. Do you want to speak to her?"

"Yes, please put her on the phone." I waited only a moment before Clovache was on the line. "What happened?"

"I do not know. But I can sense that something is very wrong with Batanya. Should I go over there and check, or should I stay here with Adele until Thalia can get here."

"Stay with Adele. Sookie and I will go to her brother's." I hung up her phone, and pulled mine out. I called Godric and informed him of the situation. I asked if Rasul was there, but apparently he didn't make it 'home' last night. I wasn't surprised. I told Godric that he probably was at Pam's and to call them at first dark to let them know what was going on. Godric was set to fly to Adele's after the last ray of sun was gone from the sky.

I turned my attention to Sookie. She hadn't moved from the spot she was in, but there were big tears rolling down her face. I pulled her to me, and she was trembling. "Sookie," I pulled back and looked at her. "We will find him, I promise."

She nodded and asked in a very small voice, "will you please pray to your gods now? I am already praying to mine." I nodded and hugged her to me tightly and just held her in silence for a few minutes. I did as she requested and offered up a prayer to the allfadern for Jason's safety.

"Let's get dressed so we can leave at first dark. Sookie, we can get there very quickly if we fly. Are you OK with that?" She nodded. We then got dressed, and I grabbed a jacket from my closet for her because it would be cool on the flight over. The moment I felt the sun gone I switched open the shutters from all the windows. I took Sookie's hand and led her to the roof and picked her up bridal style. She put her arms around my neck, and we took flight.

We were silent on the flight over, and we landed in Jason's yard just as the car carrying FBI and Homeland Security was pulling up. I could see the officers from the sheriff's department busy at work, and there was a young man who I assumed was this Hoyt sitting on a bench on the front porch. As soon as we landed the human sheriff came up to us.

"Miss Sookie, I'm not sure you should be here. This is a crime scene after all," he took off his hat and scratched his head.

"Of course, I'm going to be here, Sheriff. This is my brother we're talking about."

FBI and Homeland Security joined our circle. FBI spoke, "what are the details, Sheriff?"

The sheriff filled them in on what we had already been told. I wandered over toward the blood which was concentrated close to Jason's truck. It was a lot of blood; I doubt anyone human could survive that amount of loss. Sookie finally saw the blood and began crying.

"Mr. Northman, as I said, this is a crime scene. Please step away from there," the sheriff instructed.

"Can I at least look at the blood?" All three law enforcement officers had expressions of disbelief on their faces. "I mean, if I can test the blood, I can at least tell if it is Jason's."

"You can do that?" the sheriff asked. I nodded, and he gestured for me to go ahead. I knelt down near the largest concentration of the blood and by scent alone I could tell it wasn't Jason's. I touched my index finger to some and tasted it on the tip of my tongue, then spit it out. It wasn't human blood; it was Britlingen. "This isn't Jason's blood."

Sookie was the first to respond, "are you sure?"

I nodded and said simply to her, "Batanya." She covered her mouth in a gasp. I knew that none of the others would know what that meant.

Homeland Security asked, "what was that?"

"I said I was sure," was all I responded. I looked around. There were a lot of footprints in the area. There was also evidence of a large fight. It appeared that Batanya and Jason had been hugely outnumbered. I noticed that there was a bush on the outer edges away from the house that looked like it had been recently burned. That seemed odd. I looked at Sookie, and she was looking at the bush as well, but I could tell by the recognition in her feelings that she seemed to know what it meant. When she looked at me she gave me an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

Homeland Security was much too observant for his own good, "what's with the burnt bush?" he asked me.

I stood from my crouching position and answered honestly, "I have no idea. However, it appears that there was a big fight here."

Sheriff Dearborn added, "that's what I thought. It looks like there were a lot of people here." He gestured around the area of the fight.

"Have you found any evidence that would point to who was here?" I asked.

The sheriff just looked at me for a moment before he called for someone named Kevin to bring over the evidence. Apparently they had gathered quite a bit before we got there. This Kevin had it all in a box, and I looked in to see several pieces in clear plastic bags. I thought about asking to examine the evidence, but I figured I would only get one shot at it, and Godric had much better senses than I.

"Sheriff, I can call Godric to come here, and if he could … examine some of this, he may be able to shed some light on this situation. Would this be agreeable?"

"That little teen-age fellow?" the sheriff asked.

"Don't let appearances fool you, sheriff. Godric is very, very old and very wise."

"Please, Sheriff Dearborn, let Godric take a look," Sookie pleaded.

The sheriff nodded, and I took out my phone and called Godric. He was already with Adele, so it only took a few minutes for him to drift down from the sky to join us on the lawn.

FBI asked, "can all vampires fly?" He'd seen my arrival with Sookie earlier.

I shook my head, "we all get different gifts. Ours happens to be flight." I gestured between Godric and me. "Godric also has an incredible sense of smell. He not only can pick up scents that no one else could, but he also has a perfect memory of those scents and where they came from."

The sheriff walked up to Godric, "Mr. Godric, would you look over this evidence we collected to see if it tells you anything?"

Godric nodded, then proceeded to examine the different bags holding evidence. Every now and then he would open one of the bags and take a sniff, then put it back. On a couple occasions he gave me a meaningful look after examining the contents of the bags. When he was done with the evidence bags, he backed away and looked around the yard. He saw something in the grass far off in the distance. He levitated and swooshed over there to examine what he'd seen without touching down on the grass. He gestured for the deputy to come and bag this new piece of evidence. While he was still suspended in the air, he took one last look around the area before returning to us nearer the house.

When he landed he said, "Eric, a word." We walked a few feet away but not out of earshot. Godric switched to Old Norse. "The blood belonged to Batanya, they were overpowered by sheer numbers. The last piece of evidence that the deputy bagged was a matchbook from Fangtasia."

That shocked me. "Fangtasia?" I asked. "What does that mean?"

"I think someone went there looking for information, that is all. These were Weres. Particularly smelly ones. If I found them again, I would know. However, I also picked up the scent of desert I have smelled before. I would be comfortable saying that these Weres came from the area around Las Vegas. Also, one of the pieces of evidence collected by the deputy was a piece of a map with this address written on it. It had Victor Madden's scent faintly on it."

Homeland Security felt the need to interject, "is there something you would care to share with the class, gentlemen?"

"Nevada," I said. "The kidnappers were from Nevada." Sookie let out a little cry and then ran into my arms.

"You think they were sent by this king…" FBI looked through his notes, "Felipe de Castro?" I nodded.

Godric said, "for purposes of the press, if it comes to that, I think all we should say is that the kidnappers were definitely determined to be from Nevada."

FBI got on his phone immediately to alert the Las Vegas field office of this kidnapping. When he was done he said, "they are going to put surveillance at every airfield, public and private, so if they fly, we should be able to get them. However, if they drive, it might be a little more difficult."

Sookie turned her back to the police and agents and said, "Eric, can you take me home. I need to be with Gran."

Homeland Security barked, "Miss Stackhouse, now do you want to tell us the real reason these vampire monarchs seem so hell bent on having you and your brother? I don't believe for a second that it is just to make you blood whores."

Sookie closed her eyes for a minute, then calmly turned to Homeland Security, "Mr. Pettigrew, you are an ass. Maybe if you'd been doing your job last night instead of harassing us in the middle of the charity ball, this wouldn't have happened; we'll never know. But now my brother is missing. Obviously someone was hurt here. So as far as I'm concerned you and your poorly-timed, rude and insulting questions can just go straight to hell." She closed her eyes and took a few cleansing breaths. "Do your damn job, Mr. Pettigrew and find my brother, or I swear to God, I will go on a publicity campaign about your harassment, the likes of which even the Kardashians would envy." She turned back to me, "take me home, Eric."

Mr. Pettigrew looked from her to me, and I just raised my eyebrow. I picked Sookie up, and we took off into the sky. Before we were out of hearing range, FBI turned to Homeland Security and asked him about going to the charity ball. Maybe Sookie's little tirade will get him into trouble with FBI at the very least. I was very proud of my Sookie for taking her stance. If this guy didn't back down soon, I was going to make sure he suffered for it. Probably with a publicity assault as Sookie had suggested or by going to his superiors.

It didn't take long for us to get to her house. We walked in and Adele was there with Clovache, Thalia, and Mr. Cataliades. She looked up at us desperate for information. Sookie ran into her arms and hugged her on the sofa. Adele looked up at me for the information.

"We think that Weres from Nevada took Jason." Adele let out a little cry. I continued, "there was a lot of blood, but it wasn't Jason's." I looked at Clovache, "I'm afraid it was Batanya's. They were hugely outnumbered."

Clovache nodded, "they must have been; they would never have been able to take Batanya otherwise. But she is not dead. I would know. They probably didn't know what she is, and they must have taken her, too. If so, that will be a lucky break for Jason. Batanya's wounds will heal rapidly, and she will be able to help Jason possibly escape."

I nodded my head. "Mr. Cataliades, we are having a real problem with Agent Pettigrew from Homeland Security. He chased us down at the charity ball last night for an impromptu interrogation, and that's exactly what it was, an interrogation. Earlier in the evening he had tried to test Sookie with a fake bomb threat. Then tonight he shows up at Jason's, and when Sookie is at her most vulnerable, he begins interrogating her again."

Mr. C looks at us, "at any time did you say that you didn't want to be questioned outside of the presence of your attorney?"

"Yes, Uncle Des, I told him that point blank last night."

I added, "as did I on behalf of myself, Rasul, and Pamela."

Mr. C grinned, "and he attempted to interrogate you again tonight?" We both nodded. "Then your agent from Homeland Security has actually broken the law. He has knowingly and willfully violated your constitutional rights. I'll make sure a writ to that effect is filed first thing in the morning." He paused for a moment, "I may wait just until reporters are out and about for the day. Make sure the press learns why we are filing these charges."

I couldn't help but smirk at Homeland Security's future dilemma. I'm really glad we have Mr. C to help fight the battle on that front.

Sookie spoke up, "thank you, Uncle Des. It would help if we didn't also have to worry about that guy." Great minds think alike. I gave Sookie a nod and a smile.

Godric walked in then and said, "The guy from the FBI was really mad at the other agent."

I nodded at him, "Mr. C is also taking legal steps with this guy."

Godric nodded, "good, very good."

Sookie stood up and took the floor, "OK, let's go over what we know. Jason's been taken by Weres from Nevada." We nodded. "Batanya was overpowered by too many Weres and injured." Again we nodded. "However, Batanya is still alive, and she was apparently taken with Jason. Further, Batanya heals quickly, and she can then help Jason escape. Right so far?" Everyone nodded. Sookie continued, "FBI has surveillance set up on every public and private airfield around Las Vegas that they know about, yes? So given all of that, what should we do now?"

Godric answered, "anyone who has connections in the Las Vegas area calls in favors or asks for help. I know quite a few in the area, Mr. Cataliades?"

Mr. C answered, "I know a few demons and a couple witches in the area," he said as he pulled out his cell phone. I also pulled mine, as did, surprisingly, Thalia. We called in every favor owed, and then called in friends who could help.

Just as we were finishing up our calls, I heard a car pull up outside. I looked through the window and saw Rasul and Pam coming up the steps. Thalia greeted them at the door and showed them in.

I greeted them, "thank you for coming Rasul, Pam."

Rasul nodded, "after Godric called and told me what was going on, I made a few phone calls. What the vampire monarchs don't know, is that their court liaison officers have formed a kind of network. We won't directly betray our monarch, but we might get excited when something out-of-the-ordinary occurs and share it with the others. Obviously, I couldn't call the Nevada liaison officer, but I called two other state liaison officers who are friendly with her. And from both of them I got that something exciting and unprecedented is going down in Las Vegas right now."

"Was any of the information helpful?" I asked with uncharacteristic optimism.

He smiled at me, "actually, it was. I've learned that the palace is expecting a 'special shipment' coming from Highway 93 onto Interstate 515 into downtown Las Vegas. They are still a ways out, but if someone sets up a roadblock-type scenario near the 93/515 junction soon, they may be able to catch some kidnappers." Godric immediately made more calls.

Sookie and Adele both smiled at Rasul, "thank you." They both said it in unison.

Rasul nodded, "well, we haven't caught them yet." Pam put her arm through Rasul's bent arm and kissed him on the cheek. That was the single largest display of emotion I'd seen from Pam since the day I'd turned her. That reaction stunned me. I'd expected the two of them to get along since they both had terrific, if vastly different, senses of humor. But this looked like a connection way deeper than I had anticipated. Rasul smiled at her and stroked her cheek. Surprisingly, Pam didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she basked in it. I was guessing that something incredibly profound had happened between the two of them in the last 24 hours.

Sookie began speaking again, "so, we know approximately where Jason will be in the near future. Let's focus our efforts there, and see what happens." She sounded just like a general before a battle.

One by one we all nodded to the general. She seemed moved by the gestures. She was just about to speak again, when her cell phone rang. She looked at all of us before she answered, "hello?"

"Sook? Is that you?" Then there was static…

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

I don't really think that I really shamed anyone who is following but not reviewing, last time. Ah well… It's all locked up now in your own personal karma now… Put that in your smike and pope it!

However, I am so, so grateful to those who did review since last time as of 5/27/17: princessspot5, Hucki (who reviewed totally in German, but Google Translate helped me to know that it was a great and kind review), tanseynz, Asami's clown, 3 Guests, peachesgo, VampMad50, hummingbirdgrrl, ljhjelm49, jackie69, ashmo2000, pattyfullwood, ciasteczko, Perfecta999, MsNorthman, autumnchild25, grammysharbear2

I read each and every review, sometimes over and over… Even if it just says 'good job.' Thanks ever so…


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Defiance

"Hello… Hello… Jason?" Sookie tried to will him back onto the other end of that line, "Jason! Jason!" She looked at us in desperation. "What does this mean?"

We were all silent for a moment. Rasul spoke first, "maybe he got loose, but his cell phone ran out of coverage distance from a cell tower."

"Or he's in a mountainous area, which makes cell phone signals cut in and out," Godric added.

Sookie nodded pacing back and forth. "Does anyone have the number for that FBI guy? Or Sheriff Dearborn's cell?"

Adele got up, "I've got Bud's cell, hold on." She got her cell phone and called him, "Bud? This is Adele Stackhouse, hold on for Sookie," she handed the phone over.

"Sheriff Dearborn, is that FBI guy still with you? Can you put him on the line, please?" There was a moment's silence, "Mr. Langford? My brother just tried to call me, but his call got cut off. Do you have a way to trace that call with some kind of special FBI GPS system? You know, find the nearest cell towers like they do on those cop shows?" She listened for a minute, "Uh huh… Uh huh… OK, I'll be here, but Mr. Langford, please don't bring Mr. Pettigrew to my house unless you're going to leave him sitting out in your car. He is not welcome inside." She then hit the icon to end the call.

We were all just looking at her. "What?" she asked. "I watch TV now and then. I've seen them be able to track a call before. However, Mr. Langford was quick to point out that not everything you see the police do on television is realistic, but he thinks we could give it a shot."

I walked over to her and took her face into my hands, "you are so brilliant." And I gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, and in spite of the current circumstances, she managed to give me a little smile.

"I know this isn't how you envisioned our date ending… I'm so sorry, Eric."

I was stunned. Did she actually think I cared about any of that? "Sookie, my love. It feels a little ridiculous even to say no apology necessary. Of course we will do what needs to be done. We all will."

Soon there was a knocking on the door, and Thalia escorted in FBI who had a large briefcase with him.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Langford. What do you need from us?" Sookie welcomed.

"Do you have wifi in the house?" he asked, and Sookie nodded. He looked around, "let me get set up in this dining room. That will give me the room I need to work." Sookie accompanied him in there. While everyone else got seated in the living room, I walked in to join Sookie and FBI in the dining room. FBI was pulling out a laptop as well as several pieces of technological hardware and connecting them together. I didn't understand what he was doing, but I was fascinated by the process. Finally, he made a phone call, which led him to make some adjustments to his hook-ups, after which he asked for the phone that Jason had called in on. "Have any calls come in on this phone since your brother called?" Sookie shook her head. "So it is the last incoming call, right?" This time Sookie nodded.

He then proceeded to cable the phone into a piece of stand-alone hardware, and then he began typing on the laptop. After several long minutes, he smiled and said, "We're in luck. It seems that this call pinged two cell towers in northern New Mexico between the towns of Cimarron and Angel Fire. That's mountainous terrain which may explain why he was cut off. Angel Fire is about forty miles east of Taos." He pulled out his cell phone and made another call.

Meanwhile, Adele got out a large road atlas and opened it to New Mexico. Clovache was looking at the space between those two towns. Rasul got on the phone again, while Godric was showing Clovache the distance between Bon Temps and New Mexico on a map of the entire United States.

Sookie came into my embrace and wrapped her arms around my waist. Finally FBI spoke to us again," we have a field office in Santa Fe which is about seventy-five miles southwest of Angel Fire. They will have two helicopters in the air in the next five minutes. They will search the area thoroughly."

"Thank you, Mr. Langford. Maybe we'll get lucky and find him." Even I felt a little hope at that. I was also monitoring the conversation between Clovache and Godric. It seemed that Clovache was getting all the information she could so that she could prepare to 'teleport' with Godric to the area. Between her ability to pop to the location and Godric's ability to fly, they should be able to search as well or better than the FBI helicopters.

"Miss Stackhouse, I'm sorry for the actions of Mr. Pettigrew. He has gone far outside of standard FBI operating procedure, but those guys over at Homeland Security seem to follow their own rules. However, you should be aware that the basic tenets of The Patriot Act give agents from Homeland Security almost carte blanche to do what they want. Basically all they have to do is label someone a terrorist, and even constitutional rights fly right out the window." Mr. C had wandered into the dining room to listen to this conversation.

"That's so wrong, though. At least regarding us. Jason and I have cooperated with y'all, and we're not the criminals here. You should know that my Uncle Des is prepared to file a writ against Mr. Pettigrew tomorrow. You can even tell him that if you want because I'm done fooling with him." Mr. Langford looked at Mr. C, and Mr. C nodded.

FBI nodded in return, "Miss Stackhouse, he's convinced that there is information that you are withholding. Information about yourself that you are afraid for the government to find out. In his mind, that makes you guilty of something. I'm going to be honest with you and say that I also think that there is something you're not telling us; however, I also respect your constitutional right to privacy." He shrugged, "I guess that is the fundamental difference between the FBI and Homeland Security. Even Mr. Pettigrew would say that our missions are different. The FBI exists to fight crime; Homeland Security was created to prevent another 9/11. Crimes are clearly defined by statutes; terrorist threats are not."

Sookie looked at him aghast, "Mr. Langford do you think I'm a terrorist threat?" He shook his head and chuckled. "I was a finalist in the Miss Louisiana pageant, for Pete's sake. That's kind of the benchmark for patriotism as far as I'm concerned." She paused for a moment, and then that statement made her giggle a little. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little mentally or emotionally tired. I'm just so worried about my brother." She shook her head.

I chimed in hopefully to lighten the mood, "I've been meaning to ask you, what did you do for the talent portion of that competition?"

"Oh God," she responded while burying her face in her hands. Then she seemed to gather herself, "well, to be honest, I feel a whole lot better about my talent demonstration since that one girl sang 'Happy' while juggling red-solo cups and WON Miss America." My mind reeled at the image-what? Sookie took a deep breath, "first of all you have to realize I mainly entered the pageant for scholarship money." I nodded because that was what I had first thought. "Also, I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so singing was out of the question. I like to dance, but I've never had any formal dance training."

I smiled at her, "so, what did you do?"

This time she blushed, "well, my grandfather had taught me archery from an early age, and I'm really good at it. So I memorized the St. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's _Henry the Fifth_ and recited it while shooting arrows at various targets and making bullseyes." I froze. I had imagined all manner of possible silly talent demonstrations, but that was just about the coolest thing I'd ever heard of.

Mr. C grinned, "it really was quite impressive."

She looked at me, but it took me a moment to speak, "just when I think I couldn't possibly love you anymore than I already do, you say something that blows my mind and takes my love to a completely different level."

She looked at me disbelievingly, "really? You don't think that was a dumb talent?"

"Au contraire. I think that is about the coolest talent I've ever heard of in that competition. I'm a little overwhelmed by the images in my head." I paused, "we'll have to go to the archery range in Shreveport sometime."

"You shoot?" she asked.

"Well, I was always better with the sword, but yes, I can shoot."

"It's a date, cowboy," she grinned.

I looked over and caught Godric's eye as he and Clovache were slipping out the front door. I didn't want FBI to notice, so I said, "do you shoot with recurve or compound bow?"

She just smiled, "duh, recurve. My grandfather thought compound bows were cheats. He's pretty old-school." She waggled her eyebrows at me, and I smiled in understanding.

After her momentary levity, her eyebrows drew up in concern. She shook her head, "thank you, Eric, for giving me a few non-panic moments." She rubbed her face with her hands, and then she once again wrapped her arms around my waist. She turned her head toward the living room, "can you tell how my Gran is doing?"

I saw FBI shoot his eyes to the living room with her question. "I think she's doing OK, considering. She's surrounded by people who are supporting her."

Sookie nodded, "I worry about how all of this is affecting her. She seems to bear this all well, but she's getting more and more frail. I just don't want anything to happen that is so dire, that it could destroy her." She looked at me, "she's not just my Gran. She's also my mom and my dad. She's the only constant parent I've ever had. I don't know how I'd get by if she weren't here."

"No one wants to think of her not being here, my Sookie, but if that sad occasion should ever arise, I know that you would navigate it just fine. She needs to know that as well." She looked into my eyes as I put a strand of hair behind her ear and after a moment just nodded. I hugged her to me again.

It was then that we heard the sound from the television in the living room, "… must report that it appears that Jason Stackhouse has, in fact, been kidnapped. After all the press this case has received, it almost seems inconceivable that anyone would move forward with more kidnap attempts, but we have just learned that Mr. Stackhouse has indeed disappeared. In addition, there was apparently a lot of bloodshed in the kidnapping. Both the FBI and Homeland Security are on the case, as well as local law-enforcement officers. From what we have learned so far, it appears that the kidnappers were definitely from the state of Nevada. Earlier reports had stated that the vampire monarch of Nevada, Felipe de Castro, had sent kidnappers to the state of Louisiana. It now appears that those reports were true. Is this Felipe de Castro just as big a vampire terrorist as the Louisiana queen? Have these two 'monarchs' been working together in collusion to kidnap the Stackhouse siblings? We'll keep America apprised as information is revealed."

FBI spoke up, "Miss Stackhouse, the helicopters have arrived at the designated coordinates. They have cameras on board. Do you want to see what they are doing?"

Sookie nodded vigorously, "oh yes, Mr. Langford, thank you." Both of us settled in to watch what was happening on his laptop screen. We watched for a few minutes as the spotlight from the helicopter swept left and right, over and over. Finally, the helicopter reached a four-car caravan which looked severely burned up. I leaned in closer to make out any details I could. There were three vans and an SUV. They had been completely destroyed by a nasty fire. Sookie leaned way forward at this sight. After examining it at length, she sat back and began rubbing her face again. I surmised from the feelings I was getting from her that she may have understood what she was looking at better than I could.

As we watched I saw a quick flash of movement across the screen. FBI leaned closer and asked, "what was that?" Of course, it was Godric. He and Clovache had teleported to the scene.

"What was what?" I asked. I saw Sookie grin out of the corner of my eye.

FBI persisted, "didn't you see that flash across the screen just now?" I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Do you think it means something, Mr. Langford?" my Sookie asked. Well played, I thought. It wasn't long after that I heard a noise from outside, from perhaps behind the shed next to the house. It was such a faint noise, that I was sure that no one inside the house had heard it besides me.

I stood up and kissed Sookie on the top of her head, "I'm going to just take a walk and check out the perimeter here. We don't want to be caught unaware in this location." I made significant eye contact with her, and she nodded her head. When I walked out the front door, I took a left – away from the noise I'd heard and then with vamp-speed circled the property to come up behind the shed from the opposite direction. There on the ground was Batanya, with Clovache tending to wounds to her abdomen. I knelt down and asked, "are you going to be all right?" Batanya was breathing heavily, but she nodded. "Where's Jason?"

Clovache answered, "he is with Godric. They are still in New Mexico, but I am going to go get them; I can only transport one person at a time. Jason insisted that I first bring back Batanya since she was injured."

I asked Batanya, "did you facilitate Jason's escape?"

She shook her head and let out the slightest of snort-chuckles, "no. He facilitated mine." I looked at her puzzled, and she continued, "I was too injured, but Jason has a few skills of his own that I didn't know about."

"Really?" She nodded. "There is an agent from the FBI in the house. It would be difficult to explain how you got here from New Mexico so quickly, so after he leaves we will bring you inside. Is this acceptable?"

Both Britlingens nodded, and Batanya said, "I am healing. I should be fine in about a day." She turned to Clovache, "go get Jason, please." Clovache nodded and vanished.

I asked Batanya, "how many of them attacked you?"

She shook her head, "I lost count after a dozen."

"Do you know why they took you as well?"

"I don't think they quite knew who or what I was. I heard one of the leaders speculate that if I were Jason's girlfriend, that they could use me as leverage against him. Also, they didn't want to leave a body behind in case I died. Eric, Jason put up one hell of a fight. He has powers that aided him, but we were so severely outnumbered."

"Was Jason injured?"

"Not a scratch. He was pretty amazing in the fight until they managed to render him unconscious. He regained consciousness shortly before he managed to liberate us on that road. But it is his story to tell."

In the next moment, Clovache appeared with Godric, and Jason popped in right behind them. Jason was teetering on his feet. Godric reached around to steady him. Jason opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He took a deep breath, "Hey, Eric. Am I home yet?" He was stumbling around on his feet.

"Yes, Jason. This is your grandmother's house. Are you OK?"

"Uhmm… I think… uhmmm," he shook his head as if trying to clear it. "I think I may have over… ext… exten… overdone it." And with that he passed out cold, but Godric caught him in time to gently lay him on the ground. I was already pulling out my phone and dialing Dr. Ludwig's number.

"Dr. Ludwig is on her way. First thing we have to do is find a way to get the FBI agent out of the house." I nodded at them and turned and went back into the house. I was surprised to see FBI packing up his computer gear. "What's going on?" I asked.

Sookie answered, "Mr. Langford just got a call from Mr. Pettigrew. They've found the kidnap vehicles, but there's no sign of Jason. They're going to take a charter plane out there."

I turned to FBI, "please keep us informed."

FBI nodded, "don't worry, Miss Stackhouse. We will find your brother."

"Thank you, Mr. Langford," Sookie responded. And then FBI was gone and pulling out of the driveway. When he was well down the road, I vamp-sped to the back of the shed and came back carrying Jason. Godric was behind me with Batanya.

Everyone in the house jumped up when we came in. I put Jason on the sofa, while Adele kissed his forehead and generally clucked over him. "What happened to him?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Batanya, who had been set down into one of the over-stuffed chairs, answered, "I think he may have used a little too much of his magical energy, and his body has just shut down to recharge."

Sookie ran to kneel next to him, "Oh, Jason. What did you do?" She put her hand over his heart, and then her hand began to glow. "Gran, is there any way you can call granddaddy? His energy would really help Jason more."

Adele watched, "don't overdo yourself, Sookie." She dialed her cell phone and walked into the kitchen.

Just then Dr. Ludwig popped in, "Viking," she nodded to me. "How many patients do I have?"

"Two, Dr. Ludwig. Batanya is Britlingen and has been injured in an attack. Jason is part-fairy, and he appears to have recently used a lot of magic," I explained indicating both patients in turn.

She looked at Sookie's glowing hand on Jason's chest, "that's good girlie, you keep that up while I check on this other one." Sookie nodded.

Dr. Ludwig seemed shocked at what she found, "Huh… I'm surprised you are still alive, Britlingen. This stab-wound is clear through several organs."

Batanya responded, "I've been trying to heal myself, but it seems to be going more slowly than I would have thought."

Dr. Ludwig chuckled, "you shouldn't have been able to heal wounds this severe. At all. How… ?"

"Jason hit the wound with some of his light."

"Then that is the only reason you are alive. He saved your life," Dr. Ludwig informed us all.

She prodded the wounded area, and Batanya grimaced, "that's supposed to be my job," she mused.

"I'm going to suture your wound, and then I want you to drink some medicine," Dr. Ludwig told Batanya who nodded in return. Dr. Ludwig was just finishing with her suturing when Adele and Fintan emerged from the kitchen. Fintan crossed directly to Jason, as Sookie stood to get out of his way. Fintan knelt and placed his own glowing hand on Jason's heart. He then reached out with his other hand to pull Sookie to him and hug her.

"Thanks for coming, Granddaddy," Sookie cried as she hugged him.

"Thanks a lot, Viking, you could have told me they were Brigants," Dr. Ludwig groused as she was handing the medicine to Batanya to drink. She then walked over to Fintan, and she actually did a little curtsey, "your highness, I would like to look at your grandson now, if you will allow it." Wow. I never thought I'd hear the ill-tempered Dr. Ludwig sound so deferential. She must have a lot of respect for the Fae royal family.

Fintan stood and backed away while nodding his head to the doctor. "Who can tell me what has happened to my grandson?" he said very regally to the room at large as he clasped his hands behind his back. I noticed that Rasul and Pam's eyes were wide as saucers.

Batanya spoke up, "your highness, we were attacked by more than a dozen Weres at Jason's home. We were able to fight them off for a while, Jason with his fire-balls, and I with my weapons. But there were just so many of them. One of the Weres got a lucky strike with a long knife into my abdomen. It was when Jason hit the wound with his light that they were able to finally overpower both of us. They then loaded us into a vehicle, and we took off. When Jason regained consciousness a few hours later, he … did something… strange to the Weres. They were suddenly all screaming at one another as if in hatred. The caravan of cars we were in pulled over, and the Weres streamed out and started fighting one another. When they were all occupied with their fights, Jason grabbed a phone one of them had left behind, pulled me out of the van we were in, and we ducked into some surrounding trees. He then hit each of the vehicles in their caravan with a fire-ball from his hands. The Weres then became terrified, and they all ran off. He tried to call Sookie, but the signal died. Shortly after that, there were helicopters with bright lights overhead, and Clovache and Godric appeared. Jason insisted that Clovache port me back first since I was injured."

Clovache took over the narrative, "when I went back, Jason insisted that he could port himself, so I was to bring Godric back. We tried to port together, but Jason's power was weakening. He ended up landing a little after us, but he was spent, and passed out."

Fintan took all of this information in and looked at me, "you told me you could protect them, Northman. I believed you."

I had not expected that, but Sookie spoke up before I could, "Granddaddy, this is not Eric's fault. If not for Eric, Jason would have been all alone when those Weres attacked. It's because of Eric and the safety measures that he's taken that we have Jason back now."

"Nevertheless, Jason was kidnapped, albeit briefly. This cannot stand Sookie. I want you and Jason to come with me to the Fae realm until the threat of this no longer exists."

"Granddaddy, we can't just stop with our lives here. We have a business to run. I am set to graduate with my Masters at the end of this semester. Those things can't just be put on hold. Plus… "

"Plus what, Sookie?" Fintan asked.

"Plus, I can't just leave Eric." We just looked at each other.

Fintan snorted at that, "You can and you will."

"Let me rephrase that, I don't want to leave Eric. And I won't," Sookie insisted. Fintan and Sookie just stared at each other until we all heard the rather annoying cough of Dr. Ludwig.

"Yes, doctor," Fintan asked without taking his eyes off of Sookie.

"Your highness, your grandson will be fine in a few days. As the Britlingens suggested, he simply needs to recharge his body after an extreme use of his magic."

"Would this be accomplished more expediently here or in the fae realm?" he asked still staring at Sookie.

Dr. Ludwig continued, "it can be accomplished in either place, but he would be restored more fully and more quickly in Fae."

"Then there's an end to it. We will be leaving for there immediately. Sookie go and gather your things."

"I'm sorry, but no, Granddaddy. I'm not going; I think it would be a good idea for Jason to go there for just a few days though. Not only will he recover better, but also it would be hard to explain how he got back here so quickly. BUT, he will need to be back here as soon as he's able. For one thing, the authorities are looking for him, and for another, we've gotten a lot of new landscaping contracts to fulfill. The news has already broken that Jason has been kidnapped. I think I can stall the landscaping contracts based on that, but for only so long."

"You always did debate well, Sookie, but you will be coming with me, and I will decide when or IF you are coming back to this realm. This is not a request. End of discussion." There was total silence in the room, except for the ticking of the clock on the fireplace mantle.

Sookie just stared at him for a few minutes. It seemed she suddenly became aware of how many people were in the room – Me, Godric, both Britlingens, Rasul, Pam, Thalia, Mr. C, Adele, and Dr. Ludwig.

I decided to speak up, "Godric, would you, Rasul, Pam, and Thalia please go outside for a moment?" Godric nodded and started leading them out. I turned to Clovache, "Will you please help Batanya to a bed for her recovery?" Clovache nodded and took Batanya to one of the bedrooms in the house.

Once the room cleared out a bit, Sookie found her voice again, but she spoke very, very softly, "I'm not going to the fae realm. Not even if it's a royal command." She looked straight into Fintan's eyes when she finished.

Fintan stared right back her, "Sookie, be reasonable. What if a dozen or more Weres attack you during the day? There is no way that your safety can be guaranteed except in Fae."

Sookie was shaking her head, "no, no, no, no, no, no. I have a life here. I am not going to let someone take that away from me. I like my life, hell, I _love_ my life. If I go with you to Fae, then _they_ win. The mysterious bad guy _THEY_. I'm not going to let them. I. Am. Not. Going. To. Fae." My Sookie was brilliant. I heard some noise from outside.

Soon, Godric came into the room again, "I just wanted to let you know that there are a number of news vans pulling up to the property again. Also, Rasul and Pamela have left. If you need us, Thalia and I are on the porch." He looked at Fintan, nodded, then went back outside.

Finally, Fintan said, "Eric, may I have a word with you alone?"

I looked at Sookie, but she spoke first, "No, you may not." Fintan looked really surprised. She continued, "I'm sorry, Eric, but I am not about to have my fate decided by the 'menfolk'. I am perfectly capable of deciding what happens for myself."

Fintan just looked at her, "I could force you."

Sookie looked defiantly right back at him, "you could try."

Fintan tried again, "Sookie… "

"No."

"Be reasonable."

"No."

There was a long silence. Finally I spoke, "how about if I offer a compromise?" Both Fintan and Sookie looked at me, so I continued, "as far as law enforcement is concerned Jason was kidnapped and is still missing, right?" Everyone nodded. "So, Fintan, you take Jason with you to the fae realm to heal. Sookie, you and Adele must act as if you are still very, very concerned for Jason's whereabouts. Do you think you both can do that?" Both of them nodded. So far, so good.

I continued, "Sookie, I think it would seem inappropriate and unrealistic for you to work at The Enchanted Forest for the next couple of days. You are not only in danger, but you also are distressed by your missing brother. So call Lafayette and have him run the business in your absence. Even if they are limited on their landscaping abilities, at least they can still maintain the greenhouses and sell plants. Is this agreeable?" She nodded again. "Meanwhile, you gather your things, and you come and stay with me. You can bring your laptop and your notes, and work uninterrupted to finish your thesis during the next few days. In addition, if Lafayette should need your input on business matters, you are just a phone call away. My homes are very, very secure, and you would be very safe." I paused and looked between Sookie and Fintan, "what do you think?"

Fintan shook his head, "since I can't convince my granddaughter to do the smart thing, I suppose that this is a suitable compromise." He took two steps toward me, "but I will hold you accountable if something happens to her. And this better not just be an excuse for the two of you to simply… "

"Simply what?" Adele asked.

"To simply … play house, so to speak," he finished.

I felt my lips twitch at that turn of phrase. I even saw Sookie blush and then she giggled. Then she ran into her grandfather's arms.

"I'm sorry if you think I'm being unreasonable, Granddaddy, but I need to stay in this realm. I need to be with Eric. But I love you for worrying about me."

He smiled softly, "I will always worry about you. You are my light and my love, dear one." He kissed her forehead. He then went over and picked up Jason off of the sofa. "Take care of my Sookie," he said to me. I nodded. And then they were gone.

Dr. Ludwig packed up her bag and said, "you'll get my bill, Viking." And then she was gone as well. Sookie then went upstairs to pack her things for the next few days.

That just left Adele and Mr. Cataliades who both crossed to sit on the now vacant sofa. I looked at them and offered, "I'll take care of her, Adele. I swear it."

"I know you will, Eric. I just want all of this to be over with and very far behind us."

"Hopefully that day is coming, Adele. Remember you are upset by Jason's kidnapping and disappearance, OK?"

"I'll play my part, dear. Don't worry," she smiled.

I smiled back at her as Sookie came down the stairs with a shoulder strap suitcase and computer backpack. We said our goodbyes, and went out the back door, where we took to the sky.

She looked at me on the flight over and just smiled. I returned with a big smile at her, and said, "I don't exactly know what 'playing house' means, but I say we give it a try… " I waggled my eyebrows at her and she laughed.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Many, many thanks to all who reviewed since the last post, as of 5/29/17: Girlyj2727, Asami's clown, priincessspot5, hummingbirdgrrl, 2 Guests, tanseynz, trenee28, cari1973, Petra, ljhjelm49, kyouki no kitsune, The Vikings Succubus, jackie69, Bbrock525, Duckbutt, Perfecta999, Valconwing, ashmo2000, pnwer, MsNorthman, Nicolle1977, grammysharbear2

You all inspired me to write faster, so you can probably tell how I spent my Memorial Day Weekend.

And special thanks to fanfiction newcomer Casey8686 who made The Enchanted Forest his/her very first favorite story! Wow!


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Outrage

Playing house quickly became my new favorite thing. I had taken Sookie to that house that no one else knew about, not even my child or my maker. They could, of course, track me through our bonds if they wanted to, but they left me alone – at least in that regard. I still got phone calls from them occasionally, but otherwise they didn't just show up.

After we'd stocked the house with groceries and other Sookie necessities, we'd pretty much stayed put for the last three days. Francois was due to arrive from Paris later this week, so I'd need to go to Fangtasia to greet him and orient him to his duties, but as far as I knew, that wretched throne had remained empty in the interim. I'd left to go retrieve some things from Fangtasia very briefly on Tuesday night, but I had left before I'd run into anyone. Thankfully, Pam understood that these were extraordinary circumstances, and she didn't hassle me about the empty throne. Maybe she was making Rasul sit on it. He certainly was handsome enough, although I had trouble picturing him looking at all menacing, and she could probably get him to do just about anything she wanted at this point.

Again I thought … playing house was GREAT! Sookie and I had christened nearly every surface, vertical, horizontal, and otherwise, of my house. But we weren't _just_ having sex. On the way to the house, we'd stopped at Walmart, apparently a store Sookie was very familiar with, to get her necessities. That included food, something called a coffeemaker, and for reasons I didn't understand at the time – some items she called board games. I had a feeling those board games would be trouble by the way she was giggling when she put them in our shopping cart. I'd looked at her questioningly at the time, and she merely shrugged and said, "in case we get bored." As if…

However, they turned out to be quite fun; who knew that just about any board game could be turned into some kind of stripping game? At first we had just played them the regular way, but with some creative thinking and a lot of convincing, Sookie learned to adapt to what I began to call 'house rules'. I lost count of how many times Sookie called me her 'pervy frat-boy', a name I was learning to wear with a certain amount of pride and a waggle of my eyebrows.

We had decided that Sookie needed to truly be in hiding, with no way for FBI and Homeland Security to track her down. Therefore, we had arranged for Adele to call her once a day from various locations: Merlotte's, her church, the library. Her calls would also include any communication that Lafayette may have needed to keep The Enchanted Forest up and running. Since we'd seen how easily FBI had tracked down Jason's call, I felt these precautions were necessary, or else FBI and Homeland Security would be knocking on the door to this house. Likewise, Pam and Godric had called me, when necessary, on burn phones that I kept in large supply.

When choosing this particular house to hide out in, I hadn't thought about the fact that I had the entire collection of all the DVD seasons of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ stored here. Sookie was still a child when that show went off the air and had never seen it, and at first she thought that it was hilarious that I had the series. I told her that the show was one of my favorites, and she began binge watching. Thank the gods that she found the cleverness in the show that I had found. She was particularly glad that actual vampires didn't go, as she said, 'butt-ugly' when they were about to attack or bite. She also went to great lengths to assure me that I most definitely had a soul; something that seemed important to her for me to know.

Often Sookie and I would just talk. We'd talk about things both meaningful and meaningless. I'd asked her about Jason's fireballs. It turns out that they were really lightballs that happened to be flammable when they'd connect with their targets. Sookie could manifest them as well but not a strongly as Jason could, but she had been told that her lightballs would grow with age, since the fae generally came into the fullness of their gifts at around age 25. However, since Sookie and Jason were hybrids, there was less certainty about that age rule, but Jason had received his light powers then. The effects of those lightballs had been what she had recognized with the burnt bush at Jason's house and with the burned cars in New Mexico. We both had wondered what had happened to any of the Weres that Jason's fireballs or Batanya's weapons had managed to bring down. However, we learned from the news that one of the vans in the caravan had carried several dead bodies apparently left behind when the living Weres had scattered.

We discovered as did the rest of the world that law enforcement authorities had not only discovered those bodies, but also a plethora of fingerprints all over the vans in spite of their burned condition. Many of those fingerprints had led to arrests in and around the Las Vegas area. In addition, the blood discovered at Jason's house and in one of the vans had apparently raised quite a few scientific eyebrows as they couldn't positively identify a blood type. It would have been more surprising if they could have.

Holy Odin, the news coverage was off the charts. The reporting was nearly constant on the news channels, and also very heavy on the regular networks. The journalistic world had gone crazy with the fact that not only had Jason been kidnapped and disappeared, but also Sookie had gone into hiding and couldn't be found. There was even coverage of the fact that I hadn't been seen at Fangtasia for days. Both Pam and Godric had been approached by reporters who wanted to know where I was, and both of them answered with a simple 'no comment' which whipped them into an even bigger frenzy.

At one point, Nan Flanagan had called both of them and refused to believe that neither of them knew where I was. Apparently The Authority was looking for me. Godric told them that I was protecting Sookie, so that no one knew how to find me. Godric told them that I would appear when I appeared, and that was to be the end of that. The Authority accepted Godric's demand, but they told him that they wanted to speak with me as soon as I resurfaced.

All of this had happened _before_ the article in _Time_ magazine had come out. I had made a run to a convenience store for toilet paper, something Sookie hadn't thought to buy at Walmart, when she had run out of what I had on hand (which I only had on hand for appearance sake), she insisted that I had to get some more pronto. I made the mistake of asking how essential this was, and I was lectured in no uncertain terms that toilet paper was something humans never, ever went without. Who knew?

While I was in the corner Grabbit Quik buying every roll of toilet paper they had in stock (apparently there were many different thicknesses and softnesses, whatever that meant), I noticed the new issue of _Time_ on the magazine rack and threw it in with my purchase. It was hard to miss since the picture on the cover was one of Sookie and me from the ballet. The headline read: "In the Midst of Supernatural Turmoil – The Case for Good Vampires". Well, so far, that was promising. The teen-aged clerk in store chuckled and asked me whose house I was rolling. His words made no sense to me so I just paid and left.

By the time I had gotten back to the house and unloaded the trunk-full of toilet paper, which for some reason had Sookie laughing her ass off, I wanted to show her the article and read it with her.

"You think you got enough toilet paper there, Eric?" she asked.

"I didn't know what kind you liked, or how much you needed, so I just bought all of it," I replied, and this inexplicably made her laugh even more. "The new issue of _Time_ magazine just came out; I was thinking we could read it together."

Her chuckles were starting to subside when she said, "Great! But first we have to put away this mountain-o-tissue." And she started giggling again.

Whatever.

She carried different piles of the toilet paper to all three of the bathrooms in the house, which I guess made sense. When she was finally done, she joined me on the sofa in the den, and I showed her the cover of the magazine.

"Wow, cool title, that sounds nice," she said.

"Those were my thoughts as well. You look very pretty, my Sookie."

"And you look very handsome, my Eric. Wow… I can't believe I'm on the cover of _Time_ magazine!" she practically squealed.

I had my legs stretched out in front of me, and she burrowed into my side. I reached my arm around her to hold up the magazine so that we could both read it at the same time. I opened to the table of contents, and on that page there was a picture of me standing next to my car, taken by the army of photographers behind Fangtasia.

"Wow," Sookie exclaimed, "have you ever once taken a bad picture? You look gorgeous."

I chuckled, "let's see, there's a story about the terrorist vampires on page 34, and it looks like the story about us is on page 42." I flipped to page 42 first. There was a picture of me on the stupid throne inside Fangtasia, and the caption read, "With all of the fake, poser monarchs recently unveiled in America, it is ironic that one truly good vampire interviewed for this article was actual royalty in his human life."

"What does that mean, Eric?" Sookie asked.

I looked at her for a moment, then answered, "my father was the king of our people. I grew up a prince, and when my father died, I became king."

"You were an actual king?" she seemed awed.

"Well, yeah, until I was mortally wounded in battle and Godric turned me." I looked at her again, "why is this so shocking to you, your royal highness, Princess Brigant?"

She kind of snorted, "yeah, but that's not real." I raised my eyebrows to her. "Well, I guess it's real, but only in an entirely different realm. You were royalty right here in this realm, Eric."

"Over a thousand years ago, Sookie. It's not like we're about to be invited to dine with Queen Elizabeth."

She laughed at that. And then we read the article. Mr. Baker had done his research. He had all the information from our interview-including a few more details about my being royalty, and he also had information about my businesses, or as he referred to it – my business empire. He had apparently interviewed some of my employees who all sang my praises as a boss – how fair I was, how I rewarded individual accomplishments, how I provided excellent employee benefits including matching education funds for their children. He had somehow gotten copies of my tax returns that had my approximate income per year and listed the various charities that I'd donated to in the recent past, as well as more specifics about this past weekend's charity ball. And then there was a really interesting paragraph about a young man named Cody Blanchett who had been in the employ of Queen Sophie Ann in her palace and whom she sorely mistreated, or allowed mistreatment of him by others, both physical and sexual, until I witnessed his abuse and gave him money to get away from the palace. I wondered how on earth they were able to find this guy as I never even knew his name.

I had to admit, I sounded pretty fucking good! I looked over at Sookie as she finished reading the page.

"Wow, Eric. Is all of this true?" Her question surprised me, so I just looked at her and nodded. "I didn't think it was possible, but I'm even more impressed with you than I was before."

I chuckled, "yeah, well there's lots of stuff in my past that would not look so good if it were typed up into neat little paragraphs in this magazine."

"It doesn't change the fact that you look pretty darn good in this article. I love how they even included the throne duty, calling you the star attraction at Fangtasia."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that. "Let's see what else they have," I said as I turned the page. There were pictures of both Sookie and me as we went into the charity ball and then dancing the waltz together, as well as a picture of Sookie from the press conference she held with Jason. There was even a small insert picture of Sookie in an evening gown walking the runway in the Miss Louisiana pageant. The story went on to talk about how we'd been seeing each other for a while, but we only decided to go public with our relationship when it had gotten exclusive and more serious. There was a whole paragraph dedicated to the idea that I was the first vampire of record to publicly admit that he loved a human. Sure, there was a bedrock movement within the VRA for vampire/human marriage rights, but there had been no specific vampires publically claiming to love a human before me.

Right after that was the paragraph I had been really nervous about: the one that covered the 'would you marry her if you could?' question. I watched as Sookie read my answer, monitoring her emotions while she read. When she got to the end of that section, she seemed really happy, she smiled really big, and put her face in her hands, but she didn't say anything. After an extended period of silence, we finished reading the rest of the article.

Once we'd finished reading the Eric portion of the magazine, we flipped back and read the eight pages dedicated to the details on terrorist Queen Sophie Ann, speculations about Nevada's Felipe de Castro, and a breakdown of the vampire monarch system in all of its glorious illegalities. There were quotes from the departments of the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Office of the Attorney General about bringing an end to this illegal system. There were also a lot of details about the various kidnapping attempts, and the security I had put in place to protect Sookie and Jason. Oddly, there was no mention of Nan Flanagan or the AVL anywhere in the magazine.

I had no idea how The Authority would react to this magazine. They would either love me or hate me. Even though in human eyes I made at least some vampires look good, they could still be pissed that I somehow upstaged them or whatever agenda du jour they were following.

When we'd finished the entire article, both articles, we just looked at each other. "Well, what do you think?" I asked her.

"It's a lot to take in," was all Sookie mysteriously said.

I was puzzled by that statement. She'd known most of the information before she read the articles. Perhaps there was a little about me that she hadn't known. "Is everything OK, Sookie?" I asked.

She stood and crossed to the window and looked out. She remained silent for a moment, "did you mean that about the marriage stuff?"

Ahhh, OK. Now I could see what was on her mind. "Every word. I would marry you tonight if we could. How do you feel about the idea, my Sookie?"

She shook her head, "I can feel that you really, really mean that, Eric." I could feel a sense of true amazement coming from her.

"Hold on, one second, I'll be right back," I said as I went into the bedroom at vamp speed and returned.

"Sookie," I said, but she was still looking out the window. "Sookie, look at me." She slowly turned around. "Sookie, I have been walking this earth for over one thousand years, as you know. I have never loved anyone in all that time, as I love you. You would make me the happiest vampire… man… on the planet if you would agree to be my wife," she gaped at me. I opened my hand and revealed the ring box and opened it, "will you marry me Sookie Stackhouse?"

She gasped. "Eric, when…?"

I smiled at her, "right after the reporter asked me the question. I realized how much I meant what I said to him." I took her hand, "Sookie, I know that we haven't known each other for very long."

"Eric, two weeks ago tonight was the first time I even talked to you on the phone."

"I know. But you are it for me, Sookie. I've told you this before, but I don't think you truly believed me. I've never asked someone to marry me before because I've never wanted to be married before because I've never loved anyone before. Sookie… I promise you that I will always be faithful to you, that I will always protect you, that I will always cherish you. Please say yes to my proposal." I felt like my heart was in my throat. I've never wanted anything as much as I wanted her to say yes right in this moment.

Her eyes were clear as she looked deeply into my eyes. "You know we can't get married yet, legally that is?"

"I know. But someday I hope the laws change. There is a vampire marriage ceremony called 'pledging' that we could do if you wanted. However, if you wish to wait for the human laws to change, I'll wait with you."

She continued to stare at me; gods but I wished I was a telepath in this moment. Then I saw a big, wet tear form in one of her eyes. Did that mean she was about to say yes? Or was she about to tell me that it was still too soon and say no? I looked into her eyes, and I could've sworn I could see her brain churning. The silence between us was becoming deafening. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it without saying anything. I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin! I realized that I had been holding my breath long enough that if I were human, I would've asphyxiated.

And then, she simply nodded her head. Was that a yes? "You need to say it, Sookie, so I'll know what you are thinking," I told her.

Then a brilliant smile spread across her face to accompany the tears that were now falling in abundance from her eyes. "Yes, Eric, I'll marry you."

I was stunned; I was elated. All I could manage to say was, "Really?"

She laughed through her tears, "Yes, Eric, really. You are it for me too. I could never love anyone more than I love you right now."

I hugged her to me, "Oh, Sookie. You've made me so happy!"

We held the embrace for a long, long time before she spoke into my shoulder, "So, Eric… do I get the ring now?"

We both laughed as I backed up and slid the ring onto her finger. She held her hand out to look at it. "Wow, this is really beautiful. I love the rubies on the sides."

I couldn't help preening, "that was my idea. Originally, there were diamonds on the side, but I requested them changed to rubies. I think it turned out well."

"It turned out beautifully. Thank you, my Eric." She seemed to hesitate for a moment, "would you be very upset if I didn't wear this when I worked?"

That question threw me, "why?" I failed at not sounding a little hurt. Did she not want the public to know we were engaged?

She just tilted her head to the side, "Eric, you big doofas, I work with my hands often buried in soil. I don't want to do that to this beautiful work of art."

I just stared at her for a minute and then I burst out laughing. "How about I buy you a chain to wear around your neck so that you have a place to put your ring when you're up to your elbows in dirt."

She continued laughing, "I think that could work." She held out her hand and looked at the ring again. "This is really the most beautiful ring I've ever seen; I can't bear the thought of ever taking it off really." She looked up at me, "Oh Eric, I love you… now and forever."

I just stared at her; did she mean what I hoped she meant? I knew now was not the time to push, "as I love you, my Sookie." I swooped down to capture the lips of … my fiancé. That was a word that would take some getting used to. I was just about to take the kiss up a notch when the burn phone I'd been using lately started ringing. I desperately wanted to ignore it, but the only people who had that number were Pam and Godric.

Sookie and I groaned in unison, which made us both laugh. I answered the phone, "yes?"

Godric was on the other end of the line, "Eric, Rasul has just been arrested. That agent from Homeland Security took him since he was a member of Sophie Ann's court. I think he really did it to get you and Sookie to come out of hiding. He had been questioning Pam and Rasul repeatedly, and he would get really mad when they said they didn't know where you were. As he was arresting Rasul, he also told Pam that if she didn't tell him where you were the next time he asked, that he would arrest her as well."

"Is she all right?" I asked.

"She's here with me now; we are at your house. She looks rather stoic, but I think that she's actually quite upset about Rasul."

I could hear Pam's voice in the background, "I'm not upset, I'm pissed. They are using Rasul just to smoke out Eric and Sookie."

"Don't worry any more, Pam. I'll take care of this," I said into the phone to Godric, but I knew she would be able to hear. Homeland Security had crossed the line for the last time, if I had anything to say or do about it. It was time to go on the offensive. "Godric, you and Pam should meet me in the Bonne Chance ballroom in two hours. We're about to declare war on that agent."

I could hear the smile in his voice, "we'll see you there, Eric." And we hung up.

I turned to Sookie, "well, I had hoped to celebrate our engagement in a much more enjoyable fashion, but it looks like Homeland Security has arrested Rasul to try and get you and me to come out of hiding. Do you have the number for Miss Peveto on your phone?"

"Oh no! Actually, I do. Hold on, while I get it." I knew it was a risk to turn on her phone, but hopefully she would find the number quickly, and we could turn it right back off.

Using a burn phone, I also called the mayor, and as many news outlets as I could reach in a short amount of time. I also called Adele, and asked her to tell any news vans parked outside her home that there would be an important press conference in the ballroom of the Bonne Chance in a little less than two hours. I told her to tell the reporters that both Sookie and I would be there. Finally, I called the Bonne Chance and gave them explicit instructions for the upcoming press conference in the ballroom.

Sookie had turned on the television to see what coverage was there, and lo and behold, they were all featuring the information from the _Time_ magazine article. Excellent. I would be going into this press conference with a definite advantage. The channel we were on had even more pictures of us dancing at the ball. She looked like she was having such a good time.

"Wow, Eric. You really look like you are having a good time in these pictures," she exclaimed. I chuckled. I guess we were both having a good time.

I took her into my arms, "oh, my Sookie, you and I have so many good times ahead of us." I thought for a moment, "where is somewhere that you've never been, but you've always wanted to go?"

She thought for a moment, "so many places, but I guess I'd really like to go somewhere in the Amazon."

That surprised me, "why?"

"I think it would be a real adventure, and there are so many one-of-a-kind plants, I guess. Most people don't know this, but they are always discovering plants that have never been catalogued anywhere. I'd love to find one of those myself, and then I'd get to name it."

"OK… I've never actually been there. How would you like to go there for our honeymoon?" I asked. I had something more European in mind, but this could be fun. Who was I kidding, anywhere with my Sookie would be fun.

"Really?" I nodded, and she squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Eric, that would be awesome! Now all we have to do is get that pesky VRA passed," she giggled.

I laughed with her, "yes, there is that. Now, I've set up this press conference for nine o'clock. We are going to be taking down Agent Pettigrew. I need you to organize your thoughts for all the reasons he needs to be dismissed from this case; do you think you can do that?"

"Absolutely. That man needs to be long gone. Just let me get a pen and paper; I want to make sure I don't leave anything out." She headed off in search of those items, and I began mentally organizing my own thoughts.

While she was thinking, she also changed clothes and put on a little makeup. I caught up with her in the master bathroom as she was finishing up her makeup. She started to pull her hair up.

"Don't. Leave it down. All the pictures and video of you have been with your hair up in some way. You are always beautiful, of course, but I think you are loveliest when it is down. I want the world to see what a truly lucky man I am," I smiled at her, and she rewarded my words with a brilliant smile of her own. She then proceeded to brush out her long golden hair, and I just leaned on the door jamb and watched.

When it was time we got into the 1971 Dodge Charger I kept here. I loved this car. Starting the following year, automobile regulations were imposed which called for, among other things, a decline in engine power. 1971 was the last year that all makes and models of true muscle cars were made, even though they stayed in production through 1974. I'd bought this car when it was fresh off the assembly line, and it still looked brand new. Like my Corvette, it was red but with a black roof and black detailing; she was gorgeous.

As we got into the car, Sookie asked, "do you have cars from every era?"

I chuckled, "only the cool ones. You like this car?"

"I do. It's very you. What is it?"

"1971 Dodge Charger. I have it serviced regularly to keep it running like new," I paused. "I have a lot of memories with this car. 1971 was quite the unusual year. The student protest movement from the 60's was slowing down, and yet some of the biggest events happened around that time. The Kent State shooting had just happened the year before; one of the last violent protests of the Viet Nam era."

"I don't think I know about that one, what happened?"

"The president had won election in 1968 because he told everyone he had a 'secret way' to end the Viet Nam War. He didn't do much about it at first, and it looked like the war was winding down, but in April of 1970 he announced the Cambodian Campaign. The students at Kent State were marching to voice their disapproval of that initiative. They had begun the protest on May 1st, but dispersed in time to make their one o'clock classes, with a vow to continue on May 4th. About two thousand students amassed on a knoll on campus. What they didn't know, was the governor of Ohio had activated the National Guard to combat the protest. At some point during the protest, the National Guard threw canisters of tear gas at the students who picked up the canisters and threw them back at the soldiers, then the National Guardsmen got into formation, knelt on the ground and opened fire on the unarmed students. Four students died almost immediately, and several more were wounded."

Sookie sat in silence for a few moments. "That happened here in America?" she asked.

I nodded. "Something that came out after the shootings, is that every single person at the protest was a student in good standing at the university. There had been protests at other colleges with outside agitators stirring things up, but these were just students."

"That is really tragic. What made you think of that?"

"I don't know. Maybe the way Homeland Security is going after us. Though not at all as tragic, but with the arrest of Rasul it feels like the government is out to get us somehow. Plus, I bought this car shortly after the incident, in the fall of 1970. And I bought it in Cleveland, about thirty miles from Kent. America was outraged after Kent State. I hope to create just a small fraction of that outrage tonight."

I pulled up to the employee entrance to the Bonne Chance after seeing the platoon of news vans out front. So far, so good. Sookie and I walked into the building and made our way to the management office where I was able to confirm that all of my instructions had been followed. I sent the concierge to check on the ballroom, and when he returned he informed me that the media had set up a bank of microphones on the orchestra stage for the press conference, and there were over one hundred reporters/photographers/camera crew people waiting for us. Godric and Pamela walked into the office to join us. After assuring that everything was in place, I turned to Sookie, Godric, and Pam and said, "showtime."

The four of us walked through a side entrance into the ballroom and onto the stage with the microphones. As soon as we broke through the doorway we were greeted by the strobe light effect of many flashing cameras. I held Sookie's hand as we walked onto the stage, followed by Godric and Pam who stood behind us once we reached the bank of microphones. After only a few moments, there was complete silence in the ballroom.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Eric Northman, and this is Sookie Stackhouse. We have a few things to say, and then we will entertain questions from you all. We are here because we have some information to share with you regarding the ongoing threats to Sookie from both kidnappers and the office of Homeland Security." There was a gasp among the reporters. "Perhaps I can be a little more specific. The threats may not be coming from the office of Homeland Security itself, but they are definitely coming from Homeland Security Agent Tom Pettigrew." There was more hubbub from the crowd of reporters."

I continued, "three days ago, Sookie's brother Jason Stackhouse was kidnapped by a large group of kidnappers traced to the state of Nevada. This happened in spite of repeated warnings to Agent Pettigrew that there was a definite threat from that area. In fact, there was a kidnap attempt on Sookie from Nevada only a few days before, and the assailant was arrested by the Sheriff's department in Bon Temps. Since the beginning of this whole sordid nightmare, Agent Pettigrew has tried to find guilt among both the victims of these kidnap attempts and their protectors. No matter how much information he was given about the kidnappers, he kept coming back again and again asking Sookie and Jason questions about themselves. I'm here to set that record straight. Sookie and Jason do not know why they have been targeted, only that they have been.

"Last Saturday night Sookie and I attended a charity ball in this very ballroom. We were accompanied by my brother Rasul al Basir and my business partner Pamela Ravenscroft who is standing behind me tonight beside Godric who has been instrumental in protecting the Stackhouses. I had invited Rasul and Pam to join us because I thought they would not only be good company for the evening, but also they would provide an extra level of protection for Sookie. Rasul would be here tonight too, but he, unfortunately, is currently in the custody of Homeland Security. Why you may ask? Because during the ball where we'd made several sizable donations to the Caddo Parish Children's Hospital, Agent Pettigrew decided to have an impromptu interrogation session. This after several interrogation sessions he'd held previously with us all. He interrupted us and began asking us questions. My brother Rasul, had held a very innocuous position in the employ of Sophie Ann LeClerq until he learned what was going on. When her learned what she was up to, he left his position. The night of the ball, Agent Pettigrew asked him where he was from. When he learned that Rasul was born in Damascus, he tried to imply that Rasul was somehow tied to the current terrorists from that area, in spite of Rasul telling him he was from a family of silk merchants in Damascus almost _eight hundred years ago_.

"When Sookie and I were notified of Jason's kidnapping, we went straight to Jason's house. There was a large amount of blood on the scene. Understandably, this was very upsetting to Sookie. And when she was at her most emotionally vulnerable, Agent Pettigrew attacked her again with questions as to why these vampire monarchs wanted her and her brother. He basically called her a liar for not knowing this mysterious reason. I would also like to add that previously to the kidnapping of Jason, Sookie and I both had reached the point of telling Agent Pettigrew that because of his antagonistic questioning, neither of us wanted to ever be questioned by him outside of the presence or our attorneys. A constitutional fact that Agent Pettigrew blatantly disregarded.

"All of this just begs the question: when did victims of crimes become answerable to the authorities? When did victims of multiple kidnap attempts become suspects that the United States government needs to investigate? When does an ACTUAL kidnap victim, as Jason Stackhouse undeniably is, be declared a fugitive by a rogue, unrestrained officer of law enforcement? When did those who help the victims of crime, as Rasul al Basir has done, start getting arrested? When did the American constitution fly out the window?"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

A note about Kent State. I have the utmost respect for the events that happened there. I was looking for an event in fairly recent American history that had inspired outrage that could in some small way parallel the outrage I wanted America to feel in my story. If you have friends or family who were involved in the Kent State event, please realize that no offense was meant.

A special thank you to all who reviewed since the last chapter posting, as of 6-4-17: Asami's clown, tanseynz, Casey8686, ciasteczko, princessspot5, VampMad50, 2 Guests, elsie bailey, hummingbirdgrrl, suzymeinen, Hucki, Duckbutt, KitKat2739, jackie69, lhjhelm49, KatyAtAll, MsNorthman, bwtawny, The Vikings Succubus, Nicolle1977, ashmo 2000, Perfecta999, fanfictionfan4444

Special thanks to elsie bailey who posted review number 400 for this story!


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Misdirection

Once I'd finished my opening statement, there was unexpected silence for a few moments. And as if someone had opened a sound door, all the reporters started talking at once. I leaned over and whispered in Sookie's ear to see if she had anything to add. She whispered that other than the time Homeland Security mocked her brother like he was stupid, that she didn't have anything else to say. I nodded at her and turned back to the crowd of reporters.

"I'll take a few questions now," I said as the reporters again all started talking at once. And just like the last time I had found myself in this type of situation, they all seemed to mysteriously organize.

"Mr. Northman, your brother is from Damascus?"

"Yes, as I said. He obviously is not my biological brother, but rather my vampire brother. To be perfectly correct, he is my vampire step-brother, I guess you'd call it. My maker adopted him when his own maker met the true death before teaching him all he needed to know to survive as a vampire. That was over seven hundred fifty years ago. As I mentioned, Rasul was born in Damascus to a family of merchants nearly eight hundred years ago. His position in Queen Sophie Ann's court was as court liaison officer. He managed Ms. LeClerq's social calendar and saw to the hospitality of visitors. He never hurt anyone, and when he found out about the situation with the Stackhouses, he left New Orleans and came to join us here in northern Louisiana. His first thought was to offer help in protecting Jason and Sookie. The other night when Jason was first kidnapped, Rasul got on the phone with the national network of court liaison officers across the country to try to help us find Jason.

"Was he born in the area now known as Syria, which didn't become the nation we now recognize until the twentieth century? Yes," I shook my head. "Ladies and gentlemen, Rasul al Basir is one of the kindest individuals, human or vampire, whom I've known in over one thousand years of existence. If anything, because of Agent Pettigrew's strange if not illegal obsessions, it's his association with me that has landed him in custody." I paused for a minute, "I should note that after Jason's kidnapping I decided to take Sookie into hiding where absolutely no one would know where we were, for her protection. I thought that was the best thing for her safety. As Agent Pettigrew was arresting Rasul" and here I decided to use air quotes, "because he had 'worked for Sophie Ann LeClerq' so he said, he also threatened to arrest my business partner Pamela Ravenscroft, who never worked for Sophie Ann LeClerq in any way, if she wouldn't tell him where Sookie and I were the next time he asked. Information she didn't have, by the way."

I turned my head and saw Pam nodding in my periphery as Sookie reached back and offered her free hand to Pam, and to my amazement, Pam grabbed her hand and held it.

Another reporter asked a question, "Mr. Northman, Miss Stackhouse, have you had any word on Jason's whereabouts since last Sunday?"

Sookie shook her head, and looked really sad, as I answered, "we have not." Hey, it was actually the truth. Since Fintan had taken Jason to the Fae realm last Sunday, we hadn't heard a word.

Another question, "Miss Stackhouse, what is going to happen to The Enchanted Forest with Jason missing?"

Sookie walked up to the microphones, "The Enchanted Forest will continue on. I know we will get my brother back. I have faith in that. And as they say, faith can move mountains," she brushed her hair behind her ears. "If so, it can certainly move forests as well." She smiled weakly at her slight witticism. By the gods, she was playing her part well.

Several reporters started shouting at once until one voice rose above the rest, "Miss Stackhouse, is that an engagement ring on your left hand?"

Sookie held out her left hand, once again looking at her ring, "why yes, it is. I just got this ring earlier this evening."

The crowd went wild. Pam tapped Sookie on her shoulder and asked to see the ring, which Sookie smiled and showed her. Pam just looked at it a moment, and then she grabbed Sookie and hugged her. Godric and I looked at each other in total shock. When I turned back to face the reporters, I had to admit that there was a smile on my face.

Finally, one of the reporters managed to ask a question, "when are you two planning to get married?"

I looked at Sookie before I answered, "well, right now we can't… legally. But if the VRA passes, or there is some other change to the current laws, then we'll set a date. As Sookie said, you've got to have faith."

Another question, "has this Homeland Security agent given any indication of why he's asking so many questions about the Stackhouses?"

"From all that we can tell, he seems to think that there is a special reason a vampire monarch would want Jason and Sookie, other than to sell for blood and sex. If there is we don't know what it is, but he's convinced that we do know and just won't tell him. It's important to note that Queen Sophie Ann was in negotiations with another monarch for a marriage contract, and she may have mentioned the Stackhouses to him as two of her assets."

"Would this other monarch be the king of Nevada?"

"Yes, it would."

"What can you tell us about Felipe de Castro? Is he a vampire terrorist, too?"

I thought about what I could possibly say that would not damn us in the future, especially if somehow Felipe de Castro managed to become the king of Louisiana. "Just after the news first broke about the attempted abductions, I got a call from King Felipe wherein he expressed a keen interest in Sookie. He seemed to think at the time that any interest I had in Sookie was related only to her value as an asset, whatever that was supposed to mean. It is indeed unusual for a vampire to publically express actual emotion for a human. So he didn't believe that I was being genuine in my declarations. I think that he was on a fishing expedition, trying to find out what was so special about her. This would have been of special importance to him in his marriage negotiations with Queen Sophie Ann."

"What goes on with marriage negotiations between vampire monarchs?"

Oh, damn. This was an area I didn't feel really comfortable talking about given the current, still existing vampire monarchy system. Well, fuckall, here we go, "the monarchy system that has now become common knowledge has been in existence on this continent since before the Revolutionary War. It has re-defined itself many times, but the current system has been as it is since before the Civil War. Each state has its own monarch, except for a few states that are consolidated under a single monarch due to vampire population. Monarch's often marry mainly for reasons that are either related to financial standing or security."

"What does that mean?"

OK, I needed to go deeper, and I hoped The Authority wouldn't immediately order my execution. Oh well, in for a penny… "Some monarchs are wealthier than others, so it would be advantageous for a less wealthy monarch to marry them, especially if the less wealthy monarch had or has covetous assets. I think this was what was happening between Queen Sophie Ann and King Felipe."

"So vampire monarch marriages are more like business mergers?"

"Yes, they are. Typically, a monarch marriage is set to last exactly one hundred years." There seemed to be a big hubbub after that announcement.

"Let me get this straight, Mr. Northman, vampire monarchs marry for one hundred year terms, right?"

"Yes, they do. You have to understand, vampires measure time differently."

One reporter asked, "so, if you were able to marry Miss Stackhouse, would it be for one hundred years?"

I saw Sookie turn her face to me. "Oh no, if… no, when I marry Miss Stackhouse, it will be forever, I hope."

"Forever? Does that mean that you mean to turn her to vampire at some point?"

"Not at all. However, if she would consent to being a vampire, she would make me the happiest vampire on the planet. One lifetime would never be enough for how much I treasure her. But, I leave that decision totally to her though."

"Miss Stackhouse, how do you feel about becoming a vampire?"

Sookie looked at me for a moment and then walked up to the microphones, "this isn't something I've actually considered before. Let's just say that I am in love with Eric, and I am willing and anxious to see where this love will lead. However, I have no intention of becoming a vampire in the near future. I really love the sunshine… and cheeseburgers." She smiled at the reporters, and they laughed and seemed to worship her. "And I know that Eric will respect my wishes, whatever they may end up being."

I decided to take control of this press conference once again, "ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you that my fiancé and I are under threat from multiple sources. We are under threat from rogue monarchs within the vampire ruling system as well as from government agents like Agent Tom Pettigrew from Homeland Security. That is the focus of this press conference. Basically, we are asking for your help. The free press of the United States is one of the most powerful forces on the planet." As I was talking I saw the front door of the ballroom open behind the press corps, and in walked FBI and the subject of this press conference, Agent Pettigrew of Homeland Security. "And speak of the devil, there he is, Agent Pettigrew of Homeland Security." I gestured to the front of the room, behind where all the press were situated. They all turned around immediately.

"Agent Pettigrew, why are you persecuting Sookie Stackhouse and Eric Northman?"

"Agent Pettigrew, do you feel you are above constitutional law?"

"Where is Rasul al Basir, Agent Pettigrew?"

"Agent Pettigrew, do you believe all vampires are bad? Do you hate all vampires?"

"Are you actually investigating these kidnap attempts, Agent Pettigrew, or are you wasting time and tax dollars looking into the victims, Agent Pettigrew?"

There were more questions being hurled at Agent Pettigrew, but I saw him cut his eyes in anger toward me on the stage. All I could think was, you messed with the wrong vampire, you stupid Agent. I actually felt sorry for his companion, Agent Langford of the FBI, who had actually always been most cordial and helpful to us.

"Do you have any answers or comments to these charges against you, Agent Pettigrew?"

Finally he spoke, "charges against me? There are no charges against me. I am law enforcement. You have been manipulated to believe that law enforcement officials are at fault in this case."

One reporter asked, "just as you believe the victims in this case are somehow at fault?"

Agent Pettigrew snarled, "I never said that."

"Did you ignore warnings about the possible Nevada connection to these kidnap attempts?

"We didn't believe them to be credible at the time," FBI volunteered.

"How about now, since Jason Stackhouse has been kidnapped by people from Nevada?" The two agents just looked at each other.

"What are you doing to recover Jason Stackhouse?"

"Agent Pettigrew, did you or did you not pursue questioning about the Stackhouses? The victims of these kidnapping attempts?"

"Yes, but they are hiding something about themselves," Pettigrew spat out.

"What exactly do you think they are hiding? And why are you questioning them at all since they are the victims?"

"Did you arrest Rasul al Basir, just to get Mr. Northman and Miss Stackhouse to come out of hiding?"

"Mr. al Basir worked for Sophie Ann LeClerq. That is why he was arrested," Pettigrew insisted.

"According to Mr. Northman, Rasul al Basir was basically her social secretary who left when he discovered her kidnapping plot. Why would he be arrested for that? Isn't it true you arrested a man you knew to be innocent of any crimes just to flush out Sookie Stackhouse from hiding so that you can find out _what_ _you think_ she is hiding?"

There was a loud cacophony of voices that followed. At the end of the noise, one voice rose and asked, "Mr. Pettigrew, if we called the Homeland Security Office in Washington, what would they tell us about this investigation? Would they back up your twisted version of events?"

Since all of the reporters had turned to face the opposite direction, I put my arm around Sookie's shoulder and pulled her to me, placed my other elbow on the lectern, and rested my chin in the palm of my hand. Godric and Pam sat down on the edge of the stage to enjoy the show.

"Mr. Pettigrew, what gives you the right to disregard Miss Stackhouse's constitutional rights?"

Sookie whispered into my ear, "right now, Agent Pettigrew is desperately trying to think of a way to turn both our hiding and this press conference into an obstruction of justice charge against you." I nodded. We'd just see about that. "He's also thinking of how he can get me out of this building and down to headquarters so he can question me alone without any outside interference."

"Do you have your phone on you?" I asked her and she nodded. "Good, call Mr. Cataliades and let him know what's going on." She nodded again and crossed to the rear of the stage to make the call.

When she returned to my side, she whispered, "he was already in Shreveport and should be here in a few minutes."

"Good, we may need his help," I whispered back to her.

"God, I hope not," Sookie responded.

I looked at her, "don't be afraid, I've got you." She nodded, but I could feel her fear spiking. I just hugged her to me. Our attention was diverted back to the reporters.

"Answer the question, Agent Pettigrew. Do you see yourself as above the constitution?"

He growled, "enough of this." He forced his way through the sea of reporters to make his way to the stage. Pam and Godric stood back up and stood in front of Sookie. When he got to in front of the stage, he commanded, "Sookie Stackhouse, you are coming with me… right now."

The reporters went wild, "are you arresting Miss Stackhouse?"

"Since when do victims of crimes get arrested?"

I asked, "why are you taking Sookie?"

"I'm taking her into protective custody," he answered.

"I don't want to go with you, Mr. Pettigrew," Sookie replied.

"You don't have any choice in the matter. Now don't make me put you in handcuffs in front of all these people, Miss Stackhouse," Pettigrew threatened.

"So you are actually arresting me then," Sookie insisted. "People in protective custody don't get handcuffed, even I know that. On what charge am I being arrested? Trying to avoid being kidnapped? I'm fairly certain that is not against the law." The reporters laughed.

I asked the reporters, "are you all getting this? This is _exactly_ what we've been talking about. Thank you, Agent Pettigrew, for so completely confirming our point."

Agent Pettigrew foolishly continued on, "and you, Mr. Northman. You are under arrest for obstruction of justice."

"For what? For protecting my fiancé?" I asked. I looked over at Agent Langford whose face was filled with turmoil.

A reporter screamed out, "how do you legally justify this obvious persecution of Miss Stackhouse and Mr. Northman? Are you an anti-vampire bigot, Mr. Pettigrew?"

I looked again at Agent Langford, and he seemed to be on the cusp of making a major decision. Just before he could vocalize it, though, I heard Mr. Cataliades from the back of the room, "everyone just calm down for a moment," he said as he made his way to the stage and hopped up on it. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Mr. Pettigrew wants to take Sookie into protective custody in handcuffs, and he wants to arrest me for obstruction of justice."

"As the attorney of record for both Mr. Northman and Miss Stackhouse, I demand to know what evidence you have against either of them."

The crowd of reporters went completely silent. Mr. Pettigrew blustered for a moment before he said, "he took her into hiding. No one seemed to know where they were; not even her grandmother."

"I believe that is the purpose of hiding. If people know where you are, then you're not really hiding, are you? I advised them that going into hiding would probably be the safest thing for Sookie. I wish I had advised Jason to do the same in time," Mr. C paused. "Tell me Agent Pettigrew, how many officers did you have assigned to protect Jason Stackhouse on the day he was kidnapped? Five? Two? … did you even have one officer assigned to protect him?" Mr. C and Pettigrew just stared at each other. Mr. C continued, "I take it by your silence, that you had no one protecting him. Even after someone from Nevada had already been arrested by the Bon Temps Sheriff's Department just a couple days before for trying to kidnap Sookie. It begs the question, what exactly is your agenda, Agent Pettigrew?"

The reporters all started screaming similar questions about Pettigrew's agenda. Finally, Agent Langford stepped up onto the stage, "can I please have a little quiet?" he said holding out his hands in supplication to the crowd. "Please just a little quiet…"

The reporters quieted down. Mr. Langford continued, "thank you. My name is Paul Langford, and I am with the FBI. I think there has just been a huge misunderstanding between law enforcement and the Stackhouses. I assure you that I have no agenda other than to keep Miss Stackhouse and her brother safe. There is currently a widespread search being conducted by hundreds of law enforcement officers between where we found the kidnap vehicles in New Mexico and Las Vegas, Nevada. Everything that can be done to recover Jason Stackhouse is being done. I assure you that we only have the safety and well-being of Jason and Sookie Stackhouse as our goal." And with that last statement he looked directly down at Agent Pettigrew. "Now if you will excuse us, we would like to talk to Mr. Northman and Miss Stackhouse with their attorney present. Good evening."

FBI leaned over to whisper, "is there somewhere we can go to talk?"

I looked at him, "are either Sookie or I going to be arrested or in any way taken into custody?"

"No, you have my word." I looked at Mr. C, and he nodded.

"All right let's take this to one of the conference rooms." I shepherded them all through the side door to the same conference room we had used during the charity ball.

Once we were all seated around the table, Pettigrew was the first to speak, "what the hell was the meaning of that in there?"

Mr. Cataliades took charge, "Agent Pettigrew, do you have any questions germane to this case?"

Pettigrew harrumphed, "Miss Stackhouse, you're not human are you?"

Sookie gasped, "well, I'm certainly not a vampire."

Pettigrew actually chuckled at that, "I never said you were, but you're not human either, are you?"

Mr. C asked, "what exactly do you think Miss Stackhouse is, Agent Pettigrew?"

"I think she's a fucking fairy," Pettigrew answered, and FBI looked shocked.

Sookie looked beautifully confused, "uhm, are you calling me a lesbian, Mr. Pettigrew?" Well played, Sookie, I thought.

"Don't be cute, Miss Stackhouse, you know good and well what I mean. You and your brother are both fairies."

FBI looked incredulous, "where are you getting this, Tom?"

"I had a little chat with Ms. LeClerq. She was very forthcoming in order to get her sentence reduced."

I interjected, "Let me get this straight. Queen Sophie Ann told you that Jason and Sookie were fairies? For a reduced sentence? And you believed her?" I just chuckled.

Mr. C added, "how do you even know if fairies exist? Outside of the word of a desperate kidnapper, that is."

Pettigrew was starting to get really angry, "why would she lie about that?"

Pam snarked, "why wouldn't she?"

I continued, "did she offer any evidence of this claim? Or that fairies are in any way real?"

"Her second in command, Andre, also stated that they are fairies."

"Because that's what Sophie Ann told him," Mr. C concluded.

Pettigrew snapped, "all right, you tell me NOW, just what makes all of these vampire monarchs want them so badly. None of this is making sense to me."

Sookie asked, "Sophie Ann has never even met me or Jason. What made her think that we are fairies?"

Pettigrew responded, "her pet human told her."

Sookie continued, "her pet human? Who would that be?"

Agent Pettigrew pulled his little notebook from his inside jacket pocket, "Hadley Delahoussaye."

Sookie started to laugh, "oh my God, Hadley? You can't believe anything that comes out of that girl's mouth."

FBI asked, "you know her?'

"Unfortunately… she's our cousin. She's a drug addict, and truth be told, we thought she was dead. She's also really … uhm, _mean_ I guess you'd say. Jason and I weren't terribly sorry when she ran off."

Mr. C said, "I think we've solved the mystery of why Sophie Ann, at least, wanted you. Hadley told her fanciful tales to make herself seem more important and to gain favor. It stands to reason then, that Nevada was acting on the same information."

Pettigrew was starting to back off a bit, "but Sophie Ann offered details about fairies: magical powers, intoxicating blood, etc."

Godric spoke next, "Agent Pettigrew, there have been myths about fairies among vampires for millennia. The myths say that their blood is exquisite. They are supposed to be very beautiful but devious and deadly. The myths also say that they retreated to their own realm long, long ago."

Sookie giggled, "do I seem devious and deadly?"

I chuckled and kissed her temple, "but you are very beautiful." She just blushed and softly slapped my arm at that declaration.

Mr. Cataliades took over again, "I'm afraid, Mr. Pettigrew, that you've been played. Perhaps not intentionally, but played nonetheless."

Pettigrew still looked skeptical, "perhaps… I'll look into why Ms. LeClerq believed Ms. Delahoussaye so absolutely."

I wanted to move this evening along, "so, are we done here? Can we leave?"

Pettigrew nodded and FBI said, "yes, Mr. Northman. Thank you for answering our questions."

I nodded and Godric, Pam, Sookie, and I rose. "Mr. Langford, will you be releasing Rasul now?" FBI looked at Homeland Security who nodded at him. "Excellent, where can we pick him up?"

Pettigrew said, "he's currently being held at the headquarters for Shreveport Police." He pulled out his cell phone, "hold on a minute." He dialed and after a moment, he said, "this is Agent Pettigrew of Homeland Security, let me speak to Lieutenant Sullivan," another silence, "Sullivan, this is Pettigrew. I'm ordering the release of Rasul al Basir. Someone will be along shortly to pick him up… Yep…. All right, and thanks." He ended the call. "He'll be waiting for you when you get to headquarters."

Sookie spoke first, "thank you, Agent Pettigrew. Rasul is really nice."

Pettigrew rubbed the back of his neck, "well, he's awful damn polite, I'll give him that." That made all the vampires in the room chuckle.

Godric chuckled and agreed, "yes, that would be a good word to describe our Rasul."

Pam added, "don't let all that politeness fool you. Rasul is all man, let me tell you…" We all just turned and looked at her, "what? I'll pick him up by the way." And she was the first one to leave.

"I think there's something pretty cool going on with those two," Sookie said.

"I think you're right. Who would have thought," I added. I grabbed Sookie's hand and turned to the rest of the room, "gentlemen, I just became engaged tonight, for the first time ever, and my fiancé and I are going to celebrate." I nodded my head at them while Sookie giggled and held up her hand to show them her ring. "If you learn anything about Jason's whereabouts let us know. Otherwise, good evening."

I took Sookie out to my car, and we got in. "Are you hungry?" I asked.

She nodded, "actually, I'm starving. Could we possibly go to Papa Sylvan's again?"

"Absolutely; you liked that place right?"

"Their crawfish etouffe was delicious. I'd love to see what else they have."

"Consider it done." I drove us there while we had an easy conversation. That was one of the things I liked best about Sookie – how easy it was to just be with her. Not only for me, because I felt a great amount of comfort coming from her as well.

When we were finally seated at our table with our drinks in hand, she said, "I'm amazed that we managed to dissuade Agent Pettigrew without lying once to him."

I was stunned at her observation, "we didn't lie to him?"

"Nope. We only told the truth, but we evaded his actual questions very skillfully. Didn't you notice? No one actually ever said that I wasn't a fairy; we only questioned the existence of fairies. It was masterful evasion since Agent Pettigrew seemed to mostly fall for it."

"Mostly?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was still thinking that it might possibly be true, but we planted some huge seeds of doubt." I surmised that was the best we could have hoped for in this scenario. "However, he was also thinking that if he found out we were messing with him, he'd rain hellfire down upon us. Those were his words. Or rather his thoughts."

Our waiter came and Sookie ordered something called shrimp and grits; I ordered a Royalty Blend. I could sense people looking at us in my periphery. I guess that was to be expected considering the amount of news coverage the two of us had had lately. Her meal was delivered in a largish bowl, and I basked in her yummy noises again.

I raised my glass in a toast, "to the future Mrs. Northman."

"The future Mrs. Stackhouse hyphen Northman," she corrected. I grinned and nodded. I loved that my Sookie was a twenty-first century woman, and yet the perfect Southern Belle. She was such a contradiction in so many ways. So very connected to the human world, and yet a fairy. Such a modern woman, and yet filled with old south grace. She was working in a profession that had her literally up to her elbows in dirt every day, and yet she was so soft and feminine.

I reached across the table for her left hand. "How long has it been since I told you that I love you?"

Her million watt smile graced her face, "at least since early this evening. You are getting slack, my love." She was so sassy! I loved it.

"Then I'll just have to make it up to you."

"And just how are you going to do that, my Eric?" she grinned with her head at the sexiest tilt.

I chuckled, "oh hohohoho, you just wait till we get home, you little vixen." I added my most wicked eyebrow waggle, and she giggled with abandon. I was surprised at how much I loved that thought – 'till we get home'. I wondered if I could get her to move in with me. I wanted her around me all the time. I also wondered if I were to ask her, would she think it was too soon to bring it up? For about the billionth time I wished I could read her mind; I hated feeling this uncertain about myself.

"I like the sound of that," Sookie said.

"What?" I asked.

"Home. Our home," she smiled.

Sometimes I truly believed that she could read my thoughts. "So do I," I added. "Do you think it's too early for us to… " I shrugged my shoulders.

"Too early to what?" she asked. I just looked at her. "You have to say it, Eric, so I'll know what you're thinking," she stated, quoting me from earlier tonight.

I grinned, "touché, Sookie. Do you think it's too early for me to ask you to move in with me?"

"Why do you want me to do that, my Eric?" she asked.

"Because I want you around me all the time. You are like a magnificent drug to which I've become hopelessly and totally addicted, and I'm going to need my Sookie-fix daily, I think." I took her hand in mine, "because I love you, and the thought of not being with you is actually physically painful for me."

"Well, we can't have that now, can we? Which house are you talking about?" she asked and hope rose in my chest like a beautiful dawn. I'd told her that the house we were in for the last several days was not my normal residence, and I explained about vampire security and the number of residences I had spread around Caddo Parish.

"I was thinking my best home… you know the one with the pool and all the other amenities… " I grinned.

"Hmmm. That sounds like something I could wrap my head around. When were you thinking this might happen?"

"Tonight… tomorrow… sooner rather than later."

"I see. Then why don't you take me to this house tonight so I can make an informed decision?"

"Check, please," I smiled.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck!**

Every time I post a chapter, I have not yet even begun the next one. I have an idea of where I want to go, but no idea until I start writing as to how I'm going to get there. My muse was taking a little vacation this time so this chapter was a difficult birth for me. That's why it took a little longer to write. I hope you enjoyed it as Mr. C would say "nonetheless."

The last chapter had the most reviews posted since I started! Thanks so much to all who reviewed since the last chapter, as of 6/12/17: tanseynz, Asami's clown, Casey8686, princessspot5 (I hope your move is going smoothly, and your kitty is feeling better), VampMad50, sharon sanchez, fanfictionfan8444, grammysharbear2, Jfozz, bbrock25, elsie bailey, Duckbutt, hummingbirdgrrl, 3 Guests, The Slain Valkyr (I hope by now you've heard from your missing family in Manchester and London), ljhjelm49, The Vikings Succubus, Ms Northman, jackie69, KatyAtAll, pnwer, Nicolle1977, ciasteczko, Perfecta999, ericlover69 (who reviewed every single chapter from 1-25, woo and also hoo and thanks so much!), ashmo2000


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – Playing House

After swinging by the house we had been staying at to pick up Sookie's things (to include especially her coffeemaker and a sufficient quantity of toilet paper), we made it to my favorite house. This is one I had used primarily to entertain out-of-town dignitaries, etc. I had some of my most precious items collected in the last millennium showcased there. I rarely stayed there; the house was too special for that. However, nothing was too special for my Sookie.

This house was in a gated community, and it had a circular drive in front of the house. We pulled up to the top of the circle in front of the main entrance and Sookie let out a long, low whistle.

"Wow, I feel like we've been slumming up until now. You've been holding out on me, Mr. Northman."

I chuckled, "I have only used this house on special occasions in the past. However, my most precious belongings are inside." I looked at her, "and now my most precious belonging of all, so to speak, will be here as well."

She turned her head to a cocky angle, "A+ for sweet talk."

I laughed, "it's been a while since you've graded me. I was afraid my academic standing might be slipping." She joined me in laughter. "How much work did you get done on your thesis in the last few days?"

"Oh, I finished it. Not only did I finish it, but I emailed it in to the student publishing department to have it bound for my Masters committee. Other than my orals at the end of the semester, I'm done."

"What about that class you were going to once a week?" I asked as I gathered her things from the trunk of the car.

The final grade is based on a paper I turned in before I met you. Seriously Eric, I'm done."

"How does it feel… to be done?" I asked as we made it to the front door. I entered my security code and escorted her inside, depositing the first load of her things on the floor of the foyer.

"Kind of weird if I'm … holy cow, Eric. This place is beautiful." She started wandering around the immediate area. She went to the living room on the left and slowly looked around while I brought in the remainder of her things. When I returned inside she was slowly going through the dining room on the right. When she returned to the foyer she said, "I've barely made it into the house and already I'm in love." She threw her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss which I happily returned. "That small picture over the sideboard in there, is that a…? "

"da Vinci? Yes, it is."

"It's not an original, is it?"

"It was a personal gift from the artist," I shrugged. "You should see the Botticelli I have in the study."

Sookie started breathing very heavily. "Oh my God!" She bent over at the waist and grabbed her knees as she panted. "I think I'm hyper-ventilating." At vamp speed I raced to the kitchen and returned with a little paper bag, which she proceeded to breathe into – a trick I'd learned from watching television.

"That's a story I'm going to want to hear someday. Do you have any idea how much that is worth?"

"Of course I do, I had to have it appraised for insurance purposes. Also, occasionally I loan it out to various museums around the world for special da Vinci or Renaissance exhibits."

"Does the sign by the painting in the museum say 'from the private collection of Eric Northman'?"

I shrugged again, "something like that." She just looked at me as if she were seeing me for the first time, then she kissed me again.

When she ended the kiss and just looked into my face again, I said, "come with me." I picked up all of the things that would go in the kitchen, and she grabbed a few things for that as well. We went down the center hall and took a right into the kitchen behind the dining room. Sookie gasped when she entered.

"Oh my God, this is the most perfect kitchen I've ever seen," she squealed. "I love the granite countertops, and these are the best appliances they make. I could be very happy in here." That pleased me. We put groceries away, and she found the perfect place on a counter for her beloved coffeemaker.

I pointed to a door in the back of the room, "there's a laundry room and a half bath through there," and then I pointed to another door, "and that door goes to the garage."

Sookie nodded, "let's see the rest." So I grabbed her hand and gave her a tour through the study behind the living room, the den that stretched all the way across the back of the house, the outdoor sitting room/kitchen. She especially oohed and ahhed over the swimming pool/hot tub in the back, even giving me her own little wicked waggle of her eyebrows. We took a tour of the second floor with its small sitting room at the top of the stairs, four bedrooms and three bathrooms which were all beautifully decorated and capable of being light-tight should the situation require it. Finally we ended up back in the living room. "OK, I give up, where is it?"

I was puzzled, "where is what?"

She just laughed, "the entrance to your batcave, you goof. I couldn't find it anywhere."

I laughed and thought that sometimes her terms of endearment baffled me. "That's the idea. It's in the study; I'll show you." I led her back to the study, showed her the panel that could be moved out of the way, entered the security code, and then we descended down the steps to the living area below which was the same size as the first floor. I let Sookie just wander around discovering the three bedrooms, living room, mini-kitchen, bathroom, and office at her leisure. I was also thinking that I was glad that this house was on the far eastern end of the Shreveport suburbs. That would make a drive to Bon Temps that much shorter for Sookie to go to work at The Enchanted Garden.

When Sookie returned to me after her explorations she said, "I don't know… "

"What don't you know, my lover?"

"I don't know if I can live in such squalor," she said as she put her arms around my neck, and I laughed. "But I guess I'll risk it."

If my heart beat, I swear it would have stopped. Ever so eloquently I asked, "really?"

She smiled, "yes, really."

I hugged her to me, "when can you move in?" I pulled back and looked at her, "I'm not trying to rush you, but I'm really excited." I shook my head and laughed, "you probably wouldn't believe how very bored I was just a few weeks ago. Well, until I got Sophie Ann's 'missive', as he called it, from Bill Compton. You've changed my whole world, my Sookie. Hell, you've changed the entire American vampire world."

"As you've changed mine, my Eric," she smiled and I kissed her. I was kissing down her jaw to her neck while my fingers were unbuttoning her shirt, when her phone rang. She pulled back, "that's Gran's ring tone. I'd better get it." I just rested my forehead in frustration on her shoulder.

"Hello?" she answered and I could hear Adele asking her if she forgot something, and she sounded miffed. Sookie answered "No, I don't think so, why, what did I forget, Gran?" Adele asked her if she forgot to tell her that she'd gotten engaged, and why did she have to find out about it on the news? Sookie responded, "Gran, it just happened a few hours ago. I was going to tell you, but then we found out that Rasul had been arrested, and Eric threw together this press conference to try to deal with the nasty little agent from Homeland Security. Good news is, that seems to be handled for the moment, and they've let Rasul go.

I could hear that Adele still wasn't totally happy not to be the first to know, so Sookie offered, "Gran, how about this – you'll be the absolute first to know – I'm moving in with Eric…"

Absolute silence.

Nothing.

A deep well of nothingness…

Maybe there were some crickets chirping somewhere.

Finally Sookie asked, "Gran? Are you there?"

"Yes, Sookie, I'm here."

More silence.

"Well, say something, Gran."

"You know I would prefer for you to move in with a man who is your husband, don't you?" At this point I backed away and leaned with my back against the wall, one leg extended, one leg bent, arms crossed… listening.

"But you also know that Eric and I _can't_ get married legally right now."

"You could wait…"

"For how long? For a law that may or may not be passed? I don't think so."

"Don't you think this is too soon? How long have you two even known each other?"

"No, Gran, I really don't. I love him. And he loves me." She looked at me and I nodded.

"It just isn't right to just … shack up." I felt my eyebrows reach for my hairline, and I saw Sookie's face flush and gain a slightly edgy quality to it. I thought that maybe she was hurt by her grandmother's words, but then I saw her nostrils flair, and I realized she was pissed. She cut her eyes to me, and narrowed them, and I could feel her anger coursing through her. She was still gloriously beautiful, but I knew I didn't ever want to be on the receiving end of that look of anger. It was probably inevitable that I would be at some point, but I hoped to avoid that particular look for as long as possible.

"Excuse me, Gran, are you calling me a tramp? Because that's the only explanation I have for using the phrase 'shack up'." Another silence.

"Are you angry at me Sookie?" Now it was Sookie's turn for the silent treatment. I could see her mentally counting to ten. "Sookie?" Adele repeated.

"Well, I'm surprised and… I'm extremely disappointed, that's for sure, and I was so happy and excited a few moments ago… and, yes, I'm angry. It's been a very stressful evening." She took a deep breath and then her voice softened, "Gran, if I ever thought anyone would understand and support my being with another supernatural I couldn't legally marry, I would have thought it would be you." Damn, Sookie didn't pull any punches; everything she was saying, though, was honest and true.

There was another long silence, and then I thought I heard a sniffle from the other end of the line. Upon hearing that I saw Sookie deflate.

"I'm sorry, Gran. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"And I didn't mean to ruin your happiness. Lord knows you could use some with all of this kidnapping mess. I've just been missing you, but I guess I'll just have to get used to that."

At that declaration Sookie just rolled her eyes, "Yes, Gran, you'll be all alone. How will you survive that? You'll be ever so lonely. If only you had two grandchildren who had built a business right there on your property. A place where they go at least six days a week. If only…"

The ensuing silence was followed by a soft chuckle, "OK, Miss Smarty-pants, I get it. I'm being ridiculous."

Sookie chuckled a little herself, "I'm really excited, Gran, please be excited with me."

"Oh baby girl, of course I'm happy for you. I'm sorry I said all the wrong things. I've only ever wanted your happiness."

Sookie had tears in her eyes, "I know, Gran, and Eric makes me so, so happy." She looked at me, and I smiled at her in return.

"Do you have any idea of when you might be coming home? I'd really like to see your ring."

"Soon, Gran, soon. Have you heard anything from Jason?"

"No, dear, and Lafayette is doing a great job of running the business as far as he can, but he's getting concerned about some of the landscaping jobs that have been left undone."

"Could you call Granddaddy, and tell him we need to come up with a way to re-introduce Jason into our world? It's not like he can just go home and then show up at work. I'll talk to Eric about it and see what he thinks we should do."

"I'll give him a call when we hang up. Can I tell him your big news too?"

Sookie looked at me, and I shrugged. "Sure, Gran. I love you."

"I love you, too. Take care."

"Bye, Gran." She looked at me sheepishly, "sorry for the unexpected drama. I think all this kidnapping business is getting to her. She's usually so much cooler than this."

She stood in silence for a moment, "are you OK?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh… Yeah… I just feel bad for hurting Gran's feelings. I never do that, but her whole propriety of marriage thing just kind of took me by surprise."

"Your whole family has been through a lot. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon," I added optimistically. "So she saw that we were engaged on television. Let's turn it on and see what they're saying." I took her hand and we settled, cuddling on the sofa in the living room suite of the underground. I flipped the TV on to CNN.

"… from the Office of Homeland Security, although none was expected. Back to you, Richard."

"I wonder what we just missed?" Sookie asked.

"That's the great thing about CNN; if you miss a story, it'll come back around within the hour."

The host of this hour's news came on, "Thank you, Rachel. We now turn to the mysterious and elusive ersatz king of Nevada, Felipe de Castro. What is his role in these now infamous kidnap attempts, and in the case of Jason Stackhouse last Sunday, an actual kidnapping. We turn now to Tamara Spiegel for CNN."

"Thank you, Richard. In a search frenzy reminiscent of the Where's Waldo craze in times past, all of Las Vegas is on the lookout for reputed Nevada vampire king, Felipe de Castro, owner of the hugely successful and ironically named Royal Coronado Hotel and Casino which you can see behind me. Mr. de Castro was famous for acting the regal yet congenial host at his casino wearing his trademark capes, so it seems strange that the usually high profile vampire has not been seen in public since early last Sunday, just before the story of the kidnapping of Jason Stackhouse broke. After a deeper look into the 'king's' holdings, the FBI determined that in addition to the Royal Coronado, de Castro is also the owner of record of several lucrative brothels in and around the Las Vegas area. While prostitution is legal in the state of Nevada, shocking revelations show that more that seventy-five percent of the employees in these brothels were working there against their will. This means that the missing monarch now faces not only federal kidnapping charges, but also charges of human trafficking. This case has been turned over to Homeland Security on terrorism charges and the organized crime division of the FBI. As of yet, law enforcement does not know the whereabouts of this vampire that the general public is now calling, among other things, a monster. Search warrants have been executed at the executive offices of the Royal Coronado, so it is too early to tell if this is indeed just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Richard."

Sookie looked aghast, "Did you know about the brothels?"

"I knew he owned other businesses besides the casino, but I didn't know exactly what they were, though this really doesn't surprise me."

"He really is a monster, as much or more than Sophie Ann. Do you think her would've made Jason and me work in one of those places?"

I shook my head, "I don't know, Sookie. But you don't need to worry about that any more. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." One of the practical reasons I wanted her living with me was so I could keep her even more safe. I knew it would be a risk to have her travel back and forth to work, but if she were always accompanied by Clovache, she should be safe. I couldn't resist thinking that I'd thought the same thing about Jason and Batanya. I might need to add another layer of protection for my Sookie.

"Thank you, Tamara. I think it is safe to say that the more this story unravels, the more frightening the vampires in question become. However, we would be remiss to leave out coverage of vampires who are actually trying to do the right thing where the kidnap victims, Jason and Sookie Stackhouse, are concerned. We now go to special correspondent for CNN in Shreveport, Cecile Peveto."

"Thank you , Richard. Yes, in contrast to the news about vampires out of Las Vegas, I'm happy to report that there are indeed good vampires. In fact, America's favorite vampire, Eric Northman, and America's Sweetheart, Sookie Stackhouse, just became engaged this evening. More on that in a moment."

Sookie playfully slapped my arm, "America's favorite vampire… Well, aren't you special."

"Only special enough to become engaged to America's Sweetheart," I retorted, and we both chuckled at our new nicknames.

Ms. Peveto continued, "Mr. Northman has recruited several vampires to aid in the protection of the humans under threat in northern Louisiana, including Godric of Dallas and Northman's own business partner Pamela Ravenscroft. One significant other vampire who has been aiding in the protection of the Stackhouses, their friends and family is Rasul al Basir, who formerly worked as the social secretary of the infamous Queen Sophie Ann, whose employ he left immediately upon learning of these kidnap attempts. When Jason Stackhouse was kidnapped on Sunday, Mr. al Basir used his considerable connections to try and locate Jason. For this he was unjustly apprehended by Homeland Security. Mr. Northman also revealed this evening that Mr. al Basir was his adopted vampire brother. Apparently, Northman's maker adopted al Basir when the latter was just a newborn vampire because his maker had died the true death before teaching al Basir all he needed to know to survive. That was approximately seven hundred fifty years ago, and Mr. Northman and Mr. al Basir remain close to this day. More proof that vampires do, in fact, have hearts.

"So are there wedding bells in the future here in northern Louisiana? When Mr. Northman and Miss Stackhouse were asked when they were planning to wed, the royal-born Viking and the brainy beauty queen said that they could only hope that the laws prohibiting vampire/human marriages would be changed, and then they could set a date. I, for one, hope for their sake that their dreams come true, sooner rather than later. Back to you, Richard."

Thank you, Cecile, one question. Is Rasul al Basir still in custody?"

"I got word just a while ago that he was released with apologies from the Department of Homeland Security."

"Very good, again, thank you, Cecile. Since this story first broke a week ago, the Fellowship of the Sun has been strangely quiet on the events that have been unfolding. That is, until tonight. We take you now to Dallas, Texas where the Reverend Steve Newlin is making an official statement on the steps of the federal justice building of Dallas County. We join Mr. Newlin's remarks live and already in progress."

Steve Newlin was caught on camera in mid-sentence, "… watching the events unfolding in northern Louisiana with keen interest. We've felt no need to make any statements about these events because with every perverse kidnapping attempt, we thought the vampires were making their own statements for us quite eloquently. While the plight of the Stackhouses is no laughing matter, we have felt both vindicated and quite gleeful that the vampires have finally shown their true faces to the American public.

"That is, until today." He held up a copy of _Time_ magazine. "This magazine just came out with stories about so-called good vampires. I'm here to tell you that there is no such thing! How can any creature who, in order to survive, must suck the life force out of a human being possibly be good? But somehow, one particular vampire, Eric Northman, has managed to fool the American public into thinking that he is good. But how can he be? We have also learned that earlier tonight he and Miss Stackhouse became engaged. Well, isn't that sweet. This blood-sucking monster has taken a beautiful, traumatized girl and ensnared her at her weakest moment. Miss Stackhouse who, by all appearances is an otherwise bright girl, is a young-woman grieving for the loss of her beloved brother, and she has fallen into the twisted web of vampire lies and manipulations. How like a vampire, to trap his victim when she is at her most emotionally vulnerable. The case for the good vampire? Again I say, there is no such thing!

"It is incumbent on true believers to contact all of their representatives, both on the state and national levels, to persuade them to never, NEVER vote to allow vampires and humans to marry. We must protect the victims like Sookie Stackhouse from linking their immortal souls to these murderers and monsters.

"I make this plea to Miss Stackhouse directly. My heart goes out to you on the loss of your brother who was kidnapped by vampires and is, in all likelihood, already dead. But please do not compound your already grievous situation by immersing yourself further in this cesspool of evil and villainy. Come into the light, Miss Stackhouse, come into the sunshine. The sun, Miss Stackhouse – and as a botanist you know this better than most, is God's nurturing light. It is God's gift to humanity, and that is why these godless, soulless creatures cannot abide its holy life-giving power. In the meantime, my congregation and I will be praying for you, Miss Stackhouse, for you and your brother that you will be delivered from this heinous evil. Also, we will be sending some of our Louisiana church members to call upon you in person to see if there is any way that we can help you in your time of need.

"Thank you all, and may God's holy light always shine upon you."

The camera returned to the CNN host, "and that was the Reverend Steve Newlin, pastor of The Fellowship of the Sun, finally making a statement regarding the ongoing vampire crisis in Louisiana and now Nevada. On the standard of fair-play, we have here in the studio, Nan Flanigan of the American Vampire League for some rebuttal comments."

"Thank you, Richard. As usual Mr. Newlin has spit his histrionic hatred of vampires into the air waves of America and the streets of Dallas. It is inconceivable to most vampires, indeed most Americans, why national television air time is given to an organization whose only purpose is to spew hate and destruction against another segment of society. CNN would never give similar frequent coverage to the American Nazi Party or the Ku Klux Klan, but for reasons that remain unclear to me, the Fellowship of the Sun continues to get coverage. And make no mistake, the Fellowship of the Sun is a sister organization to the Nazis and the Klan.

"We are very grateful the majority of Americans have embraced the relationship between Eric Northman and Sookie Stackhouse. We are grateful that coverage of good vampires has occurred in both broadcast and print media. As I've said before, vampires are peaceful, law-abiding citizens of this country just like our human neighbors. Are there bad vampires? Of course there are, but not nearly as many as there are bad humans. Just take a look at crime statistics and prison demographics. There are very few vampires convicted of crimes or incarcerated. These statistical numbers come from the human law enforcement community.

"As much as it pains me to say it, Mr. Newlin and I do share one thing in common. We are both praying for the safe return of Jason Stackhouse and the continued safety of his sister Sookie. By contrast, I for one want to send personal congratulations to Eric and Sookie on their engagement, and I hope one day to be covering their wedding for the media as well. I think Miss Stackhouse will make a lovely bride. Thank you for this opportunity to respond and back to you, Richard."

Richard added, "Thank you, Nan. I think it's safe to say that we all hope Jason and Sookie Stackhouse get their own happily-ever-after very soon. We'll be back with more news in a moment, but first, a word from our sponsors."

I picked up the remote and turned off the television. "Well, now you have two things to look forward to," I told Sookie.

She looked delightfully perplexed, "What are they?"

"First, you'll get some new friends because you're apparently going to get a visit from concerned FOTS whackjobs, and then Nan plans to be at our wedding! You lucky girl." She rolled her eyes, "maybe Nan can be your bridesmaid…"

Sookie chuckled, "only if I get to put her in a really frilly bridesmaid dress, lots and lots of ruffles and bows… in a really awful shade of orange."

I winced, "ouch, that mental image hurts my brain."

She giggled for a minute and then got quiet. "Do you think you might want to celebrate our engagement now," she asked as if she were really timid. But she forgot that I could feel her feelings, which were spiraling with humor and lust.

"Oh, I don't know, I'm getting kind of tired. It's getting rather late…"

She rolled one of her legs over mine, lifted herself up, and straddled my waist, "tired? – ha! Late? – pffft. Show me whatcha got cowboy."

I had us both out of our clothes in less than five seconds, and I lifted her up, carried her into the batcave, as she called it, master bedroom and tossed her onto the bed, where she bounced a few times, giggling with abandon. I jumped like I was going to pounce on her, and she closed her eyes and braced herself for impact… which didn't come. She opened her eyes, and I was just hovering about half a foot above her, which made her gasp.

Then she started giggling again, "hey there, Moon Unit, think you might come in for a landing any time soon?"

I couldn't help it, I just cracked up laughing. "Spread your legs," I instructed. She did and I swooped down and inside in one move.

"Oh yessss," she responded.

"Gods, I love you so much, my Sookie. It feels like coming home when I'm inside you."

"I know, right? I feel that way too. It feels like this is the way it's supposed to be. The way _we're_ supposed to be." She was starting to breathe more heavily as I moved in and out of her. "Finally…"

I continued to move, "finally what, my love?"

She panted through her answer, "I finally feel like we are actually engaged." I kissed the hell out of her. When I could tell she needed oxygen, I kissed down her neck and licked to raise the artery, then I bit which immediately caused her to orgasm. Very loudly. I just kept moving. In… Out… In… Out…

When I'd finished feeding, I healed the bite marks and kept moving inside her; it felt so good. It wasn't long before she was coming again. After that orgasm I rolled us so that she was on top of me. Our hands joined, lacing fingers, which she used as anchors as she moved on top of me. After a while she pushed my hands into the pillows over my head as she came down to kiss me.

Oh, gods, there was a closeness I felt with her that I'd never felt with anyone before – not even Godric. I never thought that anyone on earth could mean as much to me as Godric, but Sookie was constantly rocking not only my world, but also my worldview. I now wanted to be that _good_ vampire that _Time_ magazine had written about. My first instinct in dealing with bothersome Agent Pettigrew had been to crush him, break him in half, feed his remains to the alligators. But now, somehow, I had become a media darling, so my first instincts were out. …At least in this case.

She kissed across my jaw and moved downward where she bit my neck – not enough to break the skin, but it turned me on so much that I knew that it wouldn't be long until I reached my own climax. I rolled her back over so that I could finish on top. She began running her fingernails down my back as I massaged her breast and kissed her again and again. I felt her starting another orgasm, and I sped up for the final push until we both peaked together.

Afterward, I turned us onto our sides without withdrawing from her. I just needed to continue to feel connected to her. I reached up to push a few strands of hair behind her ear, and she brought a hand up to hold my cheek as we just looked at each other for a moment.

"I love you, my Eric, so much."

"And I love you, my Sookie."

After a little time had passed, she said, "I'm going to have to go back to work soon. I've already missed three days, and it's too late tonight for me to go in tomorrow. But I'll have to go in on Friday."

"I know, and as much as I want you all to myself, I know The Enchanted Forest is important to you."

She let out a huge sigh, "so what are we going to do about Jason? How are we going to re-introduce him to this world?"

I gave her a big smile, "I have an idea about that…"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Thank you to all who notified me that, for some reason, when I posted Chapter 26, fanfiction posted a repeat of Chapter 25. It took me several tries after that to get the right chapter to post. As a reader of fanfiction in the past, I've seen that happen before, and I never understood why the author was simply re-posting the same chapter again. Writing on fanfiction has been a true learning experience for me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who reviewed since the last chapter, as of 6/17/17: 2 Guests, princessspot5, jackie69, Asami's clown, VampMad50, ericlover69, Bbrock25, ciasteczko, Duckbutt, ljhjelm49, hummingbirdgrrl, pnwer, tanseynz, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, Suzymeinen, ashmo2000, KatyAtAll


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – Equality

 _Last time:_

 _Afterward, I turned us onto our sides without withdrawing from her. I just needed to continue to feel connected to her. I reached up to push a few strands of hair behind her ear, and she brought a hand up to hold my cheek as we just looked at each other for a moment. …_

 _She let out a huge sigh, "so what are we going to do about Jason? How are we going to re-introduce him to this world?"_

 _I gave her a big smile, "I have an idea about that…"_

Now:

"Do tell… "she smiled.

"I was thinking that we have Batanya, if she's healed enough, teleport him just north of Roswell, which is in the south of New Mexico. It's far enough away from the scene where the burned kidnap caravan was discovered that I doubt the FBI and other law enforcement were searching in that area. The story is that Jason wandered dazed for a few days or so until he hitched a ride with a pretty girl, Batanya, who was travelling south and picked him up. I'll provide her with an untraceable car – I wonder if she even knows how to drive? – and she was nice and became worried for him, and as he started to recover, he began remembering everything so she can take him to the police department in Roswell. From there, I'm sure the federal authorities will be called. We just have to come up with a solid story of who Batanya is, where she's from, where she's going, etc." I paused, and Sookie didn't say anything. "Well, what do you think?"

"That's actually kind of amazingly simple, but brilliant. Thanks, my Eric," she smiled at me.

"KISS is the best way to go," I told her as I kissed her.

"I'm sorry?" she was confused.

" **K** eep **I** t **S** imple **S** tupid – KISS! The more elaborate you try to get, the more you can get tangled up and defeated. Simpler is almost always better. I can have my day man arrange a car for Batanya and have it in a town just a little north of Roswell by tomorrow night. She drives straight to the police station, and he should be home by Friday."

"What if Mr. Homeland Security gets to him first? Will he let him come home? What if he tricks him into revealing something."

"Good point," I thought for a minute. "OK, we'll have him call home before Batanya reaches the police station, and we can say that his godfather, Mr. Cataliades, immediately took a charter plane to Roswell. In reality, Clovache can teleport him there in time to beat Agent Pettigrew." An idea occurred to me, "before we implement any of this, we'll need to bring Jason up to speed on all that has happened, and Agent Pettigrew's intentions and tricks. Do you think Jason can pull this off?"

"Believe it or not, Jason is actually pretty smart. He just talks like a redneck," she paused. "I think he does it on purpose, uses it as a defense. People always seem to underestimate him because of it."

"Now we just have to find out if Batanya can drive…"

"She doesn't really need to." I just looked at her. She continued, "if Jason is recovered enough – in your little wandering through New Mexico scenario, he could have offered to drive part of the way. She just needs to get them to the car."

I smiled at her, "as I said, simpler is better." I kissed her again. And again. I held her to me and started thrusting in and out while we were on our sides facing each other. This felt good; this felt right. She stroked my face softly with her hand, and she moaned loudly. I nearly came undone. I was beginning to realize that I would never, ever just get used to this girl. Every time we connected this way, I knew I would feel Freya's blessings.

We continued at this slow, leisurely pace on our sides for a long, long time. While doing so, we just kissed and kissed and kissed, shifting our mouths over and over again. I could feel so, so much love between us, that it was all I could do to keep embarrassing tears from my eyes. Emotions were new to me, and I never expected this much love. I never even dared hope for it. At her young age, Sookie had known deep familial love all her life; it was no wonder that she could give love so freely.

I knew now that I loved Godric, Pamela, and even Rasul, but we would have never, ever referred to it as such. Vampires simply didn't do that. Hell, we didn't even think it. One half of me wanted to totally embrace the joy of these emotions; the other half was afraid that I was becoming a total sap. There was only one thing I knew with absolute certainty: I was a very lucky vampire to have gained my Sookie's love. I would do everything in my power to always honor that gift.

I held Sookie to me as I continued to thrust, and she stroked her hands up and down my back, then reached down and squeezed my butt cheeks in matching rhythm. Gods, that felt good so I decided to reciprocate, and it wasn't long before we both found soft releases that felt filled with our mutual love and affection. Afterward, we just held each other tightly. Before long I heard Sookie's breathing even out into sleep; I was amazed how quickly she had acclimated to vampire time since it was after four o'clock in the morning.

I hated to do it, but I pried myself loose from our embrace so that I could set the various pieces of Jason's return plan into place. I called my day man to arrange for a car that couldn't be traced back to me to be delivered to a designated location, and I called Raphael to arrange for a driver's license and car title for Tanya Bates to be delivered tomorrow evening. The car would also be registered in that name.

I also saw that my latest emails showed that Francois would be arriving at Fangtasia tonight. That meant that I would have to swing by there fairly early in the evening. I would have to make sure that he had a place to stay; Pam would take care of the paperwork. I emailed Mr. C to make sure that his green card/work permit papers were up to snuff. Since becoming such a public person, I wanted to make sure that the press wouldn't find anything even remotely illegal to report to the world. I'd seen often enough how the press, especially the internet press, could turn the most trivial infraction and fan the flames of it until it became a major conflagration.

Having handled all that needed to be handled for the night, I rejoined my beautiful lover in bed, held her tightly to me, and fell pleasantly into my day rest.

3:34 p.m. Thursday

Eyes pop open; I reach for Sookie, and what the hell? Where is she? I rolled out of bed, stretched, and began my search. I found her in my underground living room watching television. I leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her.

"Hey you," she said.

"Hey yourself," I responded while I squatted down behind the sofa; she turned halfway in to face me. "Why are you out here and not naked in my bed?"

"I woke up earlier today, and I decided that I needed to stay up so that I could go to sleep earlier tonight. I really do have to work tomorrow."

That made sense, "I see. I need to run by Fangtasia before we go to your grandmother's tonight." I refused to say 'before I take you home' because as far as I was concerned, this was now her home.

"I've been thinking about that," she paused. Please don't let her tell me that she has changed her mind about moving in, please Freya, please. "I think I should move in on Sunday. That will let me catch up at work on Friday and Saturday, and I can also be packing up all my things. Then Sunday night maybe you can come help me get everything, and I'll move in. That way… I'll start the work week on Monday commuting from here."

My face slid into the widest smile. "I think that is a very good plan, my lover. I'd be happy to help you move on Sunday night." I thought for a moment, "I think you should have Clovache move in as well. That way she can be with you on your commutes to and from work."

She looked at me in wonder, "that's such a good idea! We do have all those bedrooms upstairs for her to stay in."

"I never asked; do you have a car?"

She chuckled, "Nope. I have a truck – a beautiful 2016 Ram 2500. It's a practical vehicle for my work. I can load up the bed with plants, and the 2500 can pull quite a lot of weight in a trailer if need be. She's perfect for large landscaping jobs."

I smiled, "sounds like you're quite fond of it."

She returned the smile, "oh, she's my baby. She's beautiful – white with silver chrome trim. Jason has one just like it, too, except his is black. We bought them after our first full year in business, when we were pretty sure we were going to make a go of The Enchanted Forest."

"Very good. Before we leave tonight I'll make sure you have keys and the security codes in case you want to move some things in during the day on Sunday… or before. Please just promise me one thing…"

"What's that?"

"That you won't go anywhere between now and then without Clovache. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

She smiled brilliantly at me, "of course, my Eric. The thought of anything bad happening to you is unbearable to me as well."

Those words washed over me and spread joy through my body. Who knew that being in love could be this amazing. Why in the hell did I fight the very concept of love for a millennium? I shook my head as I realized that the reason was because I was waiting for the woman who would be perfect for me. Suddenly the statistics about divorce made sense to me. You only get that one and only life mate, and what if he/she didn't live during your lifetime? You might connect with someone who seemed to be your mate, but eventually the truth would reveal itself in one form or another.

The epiphany of having found my life mate bore down on me like a sledgehammer. What if I hadn't been made vampire and walked this earth for over a thousand years? For the first time in my immortal life, the tragedy of never finding that other half of myself, as my Sookie undeniably was, became a crushing weight on my soul. The soul that Sookie was so determined that I had.

"My Sookie, you have given me more joy than I ever was thought possible. In fact, I don't think I'd ever known joy until you."

She looked at me disbelievingly, "what? I'm sure that in over a thousand years you've had multiple times of joy. Many multiple times."

"You don't get it, do you? I've been contented, and I've been amused many times in the past. But I've never, NEVER known true joy until you."

She had big tears welling in her eyes, "oh my God, Eric. That is perhaps the most beautiful thing you've ever said to me."

She pulled my hand and I rolled over the top of the sofa to sit next to her. I snuggled into her body, "so what are you watching?"

She chuckled and wiped her eyes, "I was watching CNN, but believe it or not, there is a lot of news in the world that has nothing to do with me. Who'd a thunk?"

I chuckled as well, "that's good to know, however, when you go to your grandmother's tonight that might all change." I paused for a moment, "Francois, my replacement for the Fangtasia throne arrives from France tonight. We'll need to go there for a little while as I mentioned. Is that OK with you?"

"You mentioned that we needed to stop there before, so that's fine. As long as I get to Gran's tonight at a decent hour." I loved, LOVED that she called the house Gran's and didn't call it 'home'. I don't know why, but little things like that meant so much to me. It made being with her so much more real.

"Let me check my emails and see that everything has been put into place. Have you talked to your grandmother?"

"Yes, and she talked to my granddaddy last night. He's going to pop in tonight with Jason once we get there. Looks like your KISS plan is a go," she answered. "Oh, and by the way, Batanya does know how to drive. So does Clovache."

"What do you want to do until we leave this evening?" I asked with a wolfish grin and one raised eyebrow.

She just chuckled, "well, I don't have to ask what you obviously want to do, frat boy. What do you usually do when you rise before sunset when I'm not here?"

I chuckled with her, "normally, I check my emails and businesses, check my investments, watch television, read…"

"What TV shows do you usually watch?"

"Different ones. I'm pretty fond of Judge Judy, Jeopardy, movies."

"Judge Judy? Are you kidding me?" she asked, and I nodded. "She's so rude to everybody. How can you possibly like that?"

"Oh no, I think I've just found your first flaw, my Sookie. You don't like Judge Judy. How can this relationship last?" I joked.

"I was just thinking the same thing about you, my Eric," she retorted, "Judge Judy indeed."

"What can I say; she makes me laugh. Judy and I have a long-standing relationship. However, if I have to," I said as if I were making a huge and painful sacrifice, "I will give her up, just to please you. That's how much you mean to me."

Sookie looked at me very seriously for a moment before she just cracked up laughing, "what a noble sacrifice…" She continued laughing, "but I really couldn't ask that of you. Besides, I won't be here when you first rise during the week." I just looked at her, and she responded, "I'll be at work, remember?"

How could I have failed to think of that? I guess I've just been so happy with her here with me this week, along with her decision to move in that I didn't figure that in. I mean, of course I knew she'd be working. I'd already planned to have Clovache move in with us to keep her safe on her commute, but somehow I'd gotten it into my head that she would be here when I rose.

"Thank the gods… I didn't know how I was going to tell Judy," I smiled and she giggled.

Just then, there was breaking news, "we have just gotten word that Felipe de Castro of Las Vegas, the second terrorist so-called monarch involved in the north Louisiana kidnapping attempts and, in the case of Jason Stackhouse, actual kidnapping, has been captured. He was found in what can only be described as a bunker in the Nevada desert about fifty miles west of Las Vegas. He was taken into custody by Homeland Security agents after an anonymous tip that led to his whereabouts."

Sookie sat forward and then turned to me with a big smile, "so it's over, right?"

I softly stroked her cheek, "I wish I could say yes. I really wish I could. But as you observed once before, we can't let our guard down just yet. De Castro's second, Victor Madden, is still out there. Not to mention anyone else who may get it in their heads to acquire you or Jason. Let's just leave all the protection in place for now, OK?"

She deflated just a bit, "yeah, I guess." She shook her head, "it would just be so great if we could just put this all behind us." She sat silently for a minute. "So… Francois, eh? … What's he like?"

I smiled at her, "I'm hoping he's every woman's fantasy. He's tall, well built, black hair, blue eyes, very handsome. He's a real charmer, but he can also look menacing if need be."

"What's his story?"

"I met Francois in the seventeenth century, about 1680 or so. He was less than a hundred years a vampire at that time, and he had amassed a huge debt to one of the largest moneylenders in Paris. This particular moneylender was known as LeVautour – which translates into English as The Vulture, and he had his hands in all sorts of illegal activities at the time, not unlike modern day crime lords.

"Francois was running out of options for this debt, for he had to either pay it, run, or work for the LeVautour. Well, he couldn't pay it, and he couldn't work for the guy either because it involved day-time work, which obviously Francois couldn't do. So, he was preparing to run. He figured he'd stay out of Paris for next few decades, until well after LeVautour died, and then he could return. What he didn't realize was that LeVautour had already had others run out on their debts so he was having Francois watched, and when he got ready to run, several of LeVautour's more violently inclined employees caught him and brought him in."

Sookie was following the story with great interest, "what happened then?"

"LeVautour conducted all of his affairs out of a business he owned called Le Palais de Plaisir, or The Pleasure Palace, which was a kind of combination hotel/restaurant/casino/brothel and much more that you don't really want to know about. I happened to be in there throwing dice at one of the gaming tables when I saw them hauling in Francois. They'd already done a number on his face, which should have healed rather quickly. I later found out that he had the strange gift of forcing his wounds not to heal, which was a pretty amazing vampire gift in the times before the Great Revelation. I'd never met Francois before that night, but I knew he was vampire, so I listened with keen interest to what was happening around him."

Sookie asked, "so you helped him, right?"

"Not at first…" I responded, and she gave me a look of disbelief. "Sookie, I didn't know him, or why he was in trouble. I especially didn't know how a vampire, no matter the age, had let a few humans get the drop on him. That was the fact that had me intrigued enough at least to pay attention to what was going on. So, they dragged him to a room behind the dice table I was playing at, and I proceeded to listen to what was said in that room. I could hear Francois say, 'I told you I would come with you, there was no reason to beat my face. So I'm here, now let the girl go.' That peaked my interest; he hadn't been taken, he'd come voluntarily in order to save a girl.

"I continued listening, and I heard LeVautour tell him, 'you should have left Paris when you had the chance. You were foolish to stay just for a silly piece of ass.' Francois repeated, 'let her go, or… ' At that LeVautour laughed, 'or what, you fool. There's nothing you can do," he continued laughing.

"It was then I noticed a very pretty young woman being dragged from the front door toward the back, and she was pleading the whole way. I looked around the gaming room, and I was somewhat shocked to notice that no one else seemed to be taking notice of what was going on both with the girl and what was happening in the room behind me. I paid even closer attention once they dragged the girl into the room and shut the door. LeVautour continued, 'you owe me a large sum of money my dear Francois, and you are overdue in paying it.' This didn't make any sense to me because a vampire can always get money; all we have to do is glamour our way into it, or we could break into any business and steal it. It all depended on how desperate you were for the cash."

Sookie interrupted the story, "did you ever have to steal any money?"

"Well, no, not really. By the time Godric made me vampire, he had plenty of money – even though he lived pretty much like a barbarian, and very early on I began to earn my own. But you have to understand, I was brought over under the most ideal of circumstances. Not every vampire was as lucky." She nodded so I continued, "Francois asked, 'what can I do to make you let go of the girl?' Again LeVautour laughed, 'I think the girl is the key. You seem to care about her very much. I was going to take the interest on the money you owe me out of your hide, but I think it will be more painful for you if I take it out of hers instead. Lefeau, she is overdressed don't you think?' Then I heard the distinct sound of fabric ripping, and I knew that I would have to step in."

"You were going to save the damsel in distress?" Sookie asked with a smirk.

"Something like that," I shrugged, "plus I was curious and bored. You have to understand, Sookie, that boredom is kind of the default setting for a vampire. So when something comes along that arouses something different, we embrace it."

"Is that why you love the ballet and Shakespeare so much?" she asked.

"Exactly. Now back to the night I met Francois," I heard Sookie giggle a little, but I could tell she was entranced because to her this was an important story. "I rose from the gaming table and walked to the door. There were no guards on the outside, so I simply listened for a minute. Voices were getting louder and louder inside – Francois was shouting, the girl was screaming, and someone was yelling at the two of them. I then knocked three times on the door, and everything went silent inside. The door was opened by one of LeVautour's flunkies who was meant to shoo me away, but before he could, I side-stepped him and went inside the room. I immediately assessed the situation. Four flunkies were holding Francois against the right wall. The girl, whose name I would later learn was Lisette, was bound by her hands to the back wall she was facing, and she was naked from the waist up. LeVautour was seated behind a desk to my left, and besides the man who had opened the door, there was a rather brutal looking fellow holding some kind of whip.

"LeVautour growled at me, 'who the hell are you?' I turned and looked Francois in the eyes to make sure he knew what I was, and he gave me the slightest of nods. I answered, 'I'm a friend of Francois', am I late?' LeVautour looked momentarily puzzled, 'late for what?' I answered with a smile, 'I have Francois' money; I believe he had a debt to repay?' He responded, 'indeed he does." Now the conversation was just between the two of us, "I've forgotten; how much does he owe?' He told me the amount, and I looked at Francois for confirmation and again he nodded. I pulled my money purse from inside my coat, counted out the amount, and threw it onto the desk. 'Now, I suggest you release my friend and his woman.'

LeVautour leaned back in his chair eyeing me, 'I think not just yet… ' I asked, 'and why not?' At that he laughed, 'because you still have money in your purse. Just take it out of your coat and leave it right here,' he pointed at the desk. I looked at him, 'so it is your intention to rob me?' He nodded. 'Big mistake,' I answered, and before he could form a response, I had knocked all six of his flunkies unconscious and was standing behind him with my hand around his throat. I whispered in his ear, 'so far, no one has died here tonight, but I want you to remember just how easily I could have killed you all. But I haven't. Do you know why?' He shook his head. 'Because it's my choice, and if I ever hear from you, see you, or even suspect you are messing in any way with me or my friends, I promise you, I will change my mind about my choice. Am I in any way unclear?' He shook his head, and then I knocked him out, too.

"Francois was already cutting Lisette down, and he gave her his jacket to cover her. The three of us calmly walked out of that back room and the front door of The Pleasure Palace. I hailed a carriage, and we rode to one of my hiding places. Eventually, Lisette left Francois, and then he and I roamed around France together for a few months. He insisted on working for me to pay off his debt to me. It turns out he had too much honor to steal, so I helped him earn some money and advised him on how to make it grow. We parted ways after a while, but about every few decades we would hook up again for a few months. He never had a lot of money, but he was never destitute again."

Sookie tilted her head to the side, "what did he need the money for? The money he borrowed from LeVautour?"

I smiled, "you know, I never asked." We both laughed at that.

"So he's going to sit on the Fangtasia throne, and you won't have to any more?" she asked

"Oh, gods, I hope not. In fact, I'm going to set up an entirely new location to run all my businesses and my Sheriff duties from, if the position of Sheriff continues into the future. I was thinking I might have one of the conference rooms at The Bonne Chance converted to office space for me."

Sookie stood up and walked into the kitchenette area, "that sounds like a good idea. Do you mind if I get something to eat before we go? I'm kind of starving."

"Of course not, why would I mind?" She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to make herself a sandwich.

"You know, once I move in, I'm going to be using that big beautiful kitchen upstairs…"

"I hope you use the hell out of it, my love," I smiled at her, and she returned the smile. "OK, so first we go to Fangtasia and orient Francois, then I'll take you to Bon Temps. Is that the plan?" She nodded. "Do you think we have time for a quick shower?"

She laughed, "if the shower is with the two of us together, I rather doubt it will be quick."

"With any luck," I waggled my eyebrows at her. As soon she'd finished her sandwich I scooped her up, and we had a very decidedly non-quick shower.

A little while later we pulled up to my parking spot behind Fangtasia. There were several photographers waiting there. I told her to wait in the car for a minute as I got out and looked around before crossing to her side and opening her door for her. I mentally chuckled when I thought that maybe this made me look like the perfect gentleman, when in actuality I was just doing a security check before she got out of the car… Whatever…

As soon as I opened her door I reached down for her hand and helped her out. The cameras were flashing the entire time, capturing every move we made. She smiled at me as she stood, and then we held hands as we walked in through the back door of the club. First we went into my office, and I quickly checked on some paperwork and then we went out into the club itself. It was not yet time to open, so only employees would be present. Rasul and Pam were in my booth with the man himself, Francois.

When he spotted me, a wide smile broke across his face, "Eric, c'est tellement bon de vous voir! Je pense que ce club est très drôle, avec les affiches des vampires de films, les couleurs et votre trône. Je pense que je serai très heureux ici." (Eric, it is so good to see you! I think I shall be very happy here.)

Pam said, "I for one am glad he's here. I had Rasul sitting up on that throne, and he just wasn't right for it." Rasul looked affronted so Pam continued, "well, you didn't look right up there every time you tried to look menacing, you just looked … perplexed." She and Rasul just stared at each other for a moment before they cracked up laughing together.

I pulled Sookie forward, "Francois, j'aimerais que vous rencontriez mon fiancé, Sookie Stackhouse. (Francois, I'd like for you to meet my fiance, Sookie Stackhouse.) I turned to Sookie, "this is Francois, my love.

Sookie smiled at him and said, "Comment allez-vous? C'est très gentil de vous rencontrer finalement." (How do you do? It's very nice to finally meet you.)

Francois smiled back, "Je suis très heureux de vous rencontrer aussi. Je suis sûr que vous devez être quelque chose pour capturer le cœur du Viking." (I am very glad to meet you as well. I'm sure you must be quite something to capture the heart of the Viking.)

Sookie chuckled, "OK, I caught most of that. I'm afraid that's as far as my one semester of French will get me. "

Francois chuckled, "I said it is very nice to meet you as well and that you must be really special to capture Eric's heart. And may I add, that I've seen you on television and thought you beautiful, but you are so much more beautiful in person."

The surprise on Sookie's face was priceless, "you speak perfect English?" She turned to me and slapped me on my arm, "you might have told me… We were on television in Europe?"

Everyone present laughed. Pam chimed in, "I've already filled Francois in on the throne duty, and I was just about to go pull all the new employee paperwork."

I nodded, "very good. Where are you staying?"

"I came here from the airport. I only have one suitcase. I was going to have the rest of my things shipped when I found a place to live."

"Well, until you find a place, you can stay at my house on Treemont Street. Pam, can you take him there after work?" She nodded. "There's also a car in the garage there that you can use. I think you're going to like it here."

We were all just talking congenially when the front door opened, and I heard Ginger telling whoever opened it that we weren't open yet. Then I heard one of my least favorite voices, "tell Northman I'm here."

Ginger innocently asked, "and you are?"

"Seriously, do you live under a rock?"

I walked over, "Ms. Flanagan, you are not shutting down my club tonight."

She looked at me, "I haven't decided yet."

I looked at her, "you misunderstand me, I wasn't asking. You are NOT shutting down my club tonight." I stared at her. "I would be happy to meet with you back in my office," I gestured toward the hallway.

She looked where I was gesturing and her face brightened, "ah, Miss Stackhouse, you are the reason I'm here. Glad to meet you." She nodded to Sookie.

Sookie just looked at me. I nodded to her, took her hand as I passed, and we headed to my office. When we got there, Godric was sitting behind my desk working on my computer; he must have come in right after us. He looked up when he heard us enter, and he narrowed his eyes when he saw Nan. He shut down whatever he was looking at or working on and moved to stand again against the wall to the left of my desk. I pulled a chair from in front of my desk and set it beside the desk chair so Sookie and I could sit side by side. I gestured for Nan to have a seat in the remaining seat in front of my desk. Everyone else had opted to stay out in the bar.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Flanagan?" I started with as friendly a tone as possible.

"Before we get to that, Miss Stackhouse, what are you?" Nan asked.

Sookie looked suitably perplexed, "I beg your pardon?"

Nan was not discouraged, "I think you heard me; what are you? Why did Sophie Ann and Felipe de Castro want you?"

I decided to intervene, "Ms. Flanagan…"

"I wasn't talking to you, Northman, so zip it," Nan barked at me.

Godric stepped forward, "I will not tolerate such blatant disrespect, Miss Flanagan. This interview is now over. You and your staff will now vacate this building."

"Don't test me, Gaul," Nan foolishly stated.

"And I suggest you do not test me, you petulant child," Godric responded.

"How dare you! I think you might re-think your tone if I report you to The Authority," Nan seethed.

"Is that what you think? Let's call them right now; I have them on speed-dial on my mobile phone," Godric said as he pulled his phone from his back pocket. I looked over at Sookie, and her eyes were as wide as saucers. I was doing my best not to smirk.

Nan stood up quickly, "you wouldn't dare…"

Godric hit the speed dial button as well as the speaker phone button. We could hear the phone ringing on the other end.

"STOP!" Nan shouted. Godric hit the end call icon and looked at her. Nan took a few deep, cleansing breaths to settle herself. When she felt sufficiently calmed she turned to me, "I seem to always find myself apologizing to you, Mr. Northman. I am sorry that I snapped at you."

I nodded at her. "Now, Ms. Flanagan, I'll ask again. What can I do for you?"

"The AVL has decided that Miss Stackhouse would make a good spokesperson to advocate for the VRA. I would like to give you the speaking schedule I've worked out for her." She turned to Sookie, "we'll be leaving tonight. Your first speaking engagement is tomorrow night in Phoenix, with engagements already scheduled for the succeeding nights in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and then Minneapolis. I have the text of your statements prepared for you, and I understand that you are quite bright, so all you have to do is learn the speeches I've already written for you."

We were all silent for a moment. I decided that I would let Sookie handle this because I didn't think she would appreciate my interfering in 'the little lady's' affairs. So I simply turned and faced her.

Sookie didn't disappoint, "Ms. Flanagan, I think there has been some kind of miscommunication. I was never contacted about this before now."

"Yes, I know, but we have it all set up for you," she looked at Sookie. "What's the problem?"

Sookie chuckled pleasantly, "Ms. Flanagan, I appreciate the confidence that the AVL obviously has in my potential speaking abilities, and I'm very flattered by what I'm sure you must think is a very magnanimous offer. However, I have a business that needs my presence to operate, and I am finishing an advanced college degree this semester. I am not free to just travel about. I'm sorry, but I must decline your offer." The phrasing and careful wording were so characteristic of my southern belle. I turned to look at Nan who looked a little like a goldfish in a fishbowl with her mouth opening and closing in silence.

Nan looked at Sookie, "Miss Stackhouse, you'll be on television…"

Sookie chuckled again, "Ms. Flanagan, I don't care anything about being on TV. Besides, I've been on television for the last week. Apparently in Europe as well. But, like I said that's not something I really care about. I have a very successful business that depends on me for its success. I can't just up and leave. Please understand."

"Well, I'm sorry but I don't understand. Your vampire is very wealthy. You don't need your business. Northman, get your pet in line," she narrowed her eyes at me.

I didn't have to say a word because Sookie stood up, "PET? Oh no you didn't just call me Eric's pet. I don't need my business? Why? Because I can just live off my sugar-daddy vampire? I've tried to be civil and polite, but Ms. Flanagan, WE ARE DONE!" Sookie just turned to me, "this is the best vampire world could come up with for a spokesperson? That makes me really, really sad for the fate of you all."

Godric just chuckled, "you have no idea how many times I've had the same exact thought."

Nan just looked at both me and Godric as if she were in total disbelief. "What is going on here?"

I decided to field that question, "Ms. Flanagan, it seems you need to learn what equality between vampires and humans means. Which is kind of amazing since you're out there every day talking about it, but you don't have a clue. Why would a woman already enrolled in her doctoral program just give up her livelihood? Sookie will never be anyone's pet. And she is most definitely not my equal." I looked at Sookie who looked at me questioningly. "Gods, Sookie is so far above me in every possible way, that I wonder sometimes why she would even be with me, let alone agree to be my wife. I only hope that she continues to think that I deserve her. I guess that's the best I can hope for." I sat back in my chair and raised my eyebrows to Nan. Did she get the message, did she understand, will it make a difference? Who knew?

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Translations from Google Translate.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who reviewed since the last posting, as of 6/24/17: Asami's clown, princesssspot5, Casey8686, Duckbutt, tanseynz, jackie69, KatyAtAll (who reviewed 14 chapters as she was reading them – thanks so much!), Nicolle1977, ljhjelm49, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, ciasteczko, hummingbirdgrrl, VampMad50, ericlover69, The Vikings Succubus, autumnchiled25, ashmo2000

Special thanks to princessspot5 who not only leaves long detailed reviews, but also happened to leave review number 500!


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

 _Last time:_

 _I decided to field that question, "Ms. Flanagan, it seems you need to learn what equality between vampires and humans means. Which is kind of amazing since you're out there every day talking about it, but you don't have a clue. Why would a woman already enrolled in her doctoral program just give up her livelihood? Sookie will never be anyone's pet. And she is most definitely not my equal." I looked at Sookie who looked at me questioningly. "Gods, Sookie is so far above me in every possible way, that I wonder sometimes why she would even be with me, let alone agree to be my wife. I only hope that she continues to think that I deserve her. I guess that's the best I can hope for." I sat back in my chair and raised my eyebrows to Nan. Did she get the message, did she understand, will it make a difference? Who knew?_

Now:

Nan continued to look confused. Or constipated… But since I knew that the latter was impossible, I was trying to figure out how to solve her stupidity. "Ms. Flanagan, you seem confused. How may I help you understand the situation?"

There was a long pause before she whispered, "doctoral program?"

It pained me to know that the vampire media representative apparently never did any homework. "Yes, Nan, can I call you Nan?" I asked her for the I don't know how many times. " Sookie is working on her doctorate in botany. Or she will be, once she obtains her Masters degree at the end of this semester." I looked at her and shook my head, "Ms. Flanagan, vampires live on the achievements of humans. This includes television, computers, airplanes, and much, much more. My Sookie is going to achieve her doctorate degree. Do you have any idea what her area of interest is? She's creating night-blooming plants that vampires can appreciate! Most amazing of all is that she created this project well before she had ever met her first vampire. She just simply thought about the possibility, the need, and she started working."

Godric chimed in, "Miss Flanagan, it is obvious that you have no respect for humans. And quite frankly this concerns me as you are the public face of vampirism." He moved into the room and tilted his head to the side, speaking as if to an errant child, "however, I am going to give you the chance to learn the error of your ways."

Nan raised an incredulous eyebrow at Godric, "the error of my ways?" she snorted.

"Yes, Ms. Flanagan. For if you cannot learn, then you must be put down." He just smiled at her; I'd seen that smile before. It was so innocent-looking that it could be quite disconcerting. Sookie looked at him with wide eyes.

Nan looked at him, "you have nothing to teach me, Gaul. I am the AVL spokesperson. I am on television."

In a movement too fast for even I to detect, Nan Flanagan – AVL spokesperson – was on the floor of my office with a number two Adirondack pencil hovering over her heart. Godric was holding that pencil in his right hand while his left hand was wrapped around her neck. In my thousand years of roaming this planet I had never seen eyes as wide open as Nan Flanagan's were at this moment. So, I couldn't help the smirk that accompanied that observation. I found that both Sookie and I were leaning forward and craning our necks to watch what Godric would do. The completely disarming little smile never left his lips.

Before Nan could utter her usual 'how dare you', Godric had placed his knee on Nan's torso and had his phone to his ear. "Yes, this is Godric. Could I speak to the Guardian, please?" There was a moment of silence. "Guardian? … yes… it is good to speak with you again as well. I trust all is going well? … Really? … Interesting, I had no idea; when did that happen? … Oh yes, the reason for my call… I have Nan Flanagan under my control. I have found her to be insulting and sadly, severely lacking. Do I have your permission to end her?" There followed another moment of silence. Then Godric broke into a wider smile, "thank you, Guardian." He threw his phone to the side and smirked at Nan. Her eyes got even impossibly wider. "I have his permission, Miss Flanagan. Shall I end you?" he asked very politely. Sookie started to say something, but I put my hand on her shoulder, and she stopped.

Nan made several mewling noises before she uttered, "please…"

Godric tilted his head to the other side and asked, "please, what?"

She replied, "please, not in front of the human…"

"And why not? Did you not just treat her with total disrespect?... Didn't you?"

Nan squeezed her eyes shut and a single blood tear rolled down her cheek, and she nodded. Finally she spoke, "I'm sorry."

Godric wasn't done, "have you learned to treat Eric with respect?" She nodded. "Good, very good. Have you learned to treat humans with respect? Most especially Miss Stackhouse?" She nodded again.

"Very good." He stood up. "Remember this, Miss Flanagan. I have permission to end you. The power you mistakenly think you have? It is a creation of your own delusion. If you should ever treat any of me or mine with disrespect in the future, I will not hesitate to use that permission and end you. Do you understand?" She nodded again. "Say it," Godric demanded quietly.

Nan coughed unnecessarily, "I will never disrespect you or yours."

Godric returned to his place against the wall, "you may go now, Miss Flanagan."

Nan rose and vacated the office at vamp speed, and we sat in silence for a few moments. Finally Sookie spoke, "wow!" She paused before she continued, "would you have really killed her? Just for disrespecting us?"

Godric chuckled, "probably not. But she didn't know that, now did she?"

There was a long silence after that statement, and then we all three were laughing. Sookie was the first to speak, "you are one scary dude when you want to be, Godric. I hope you are never pissed at me."

Godric smiled, "have no fear, little one. You are much too polite to ever incur my wrath."

Sookie chuckled, "well, I'll have to remember to never get pissed." She paused a moment, "so, this Guardian?"

I turned to her, "as you know, Sookie, each state is ruled by a monarch." She nodded. "All monarchs are answerable to The Authority, and the head of The Authority is The Guardian."

She thought for a moment, "so, this Guardian is the ultimate head vampire?"

Godric nodded, "in America, yes."

Sookie continued, "and he's a friend of yours?"

Godric smiled, "we've known each other for a very long time. Yes, I would say he is a friend."

"Where does the AVL fit in?" she asked.

I laughed, "the AVL is a kind of subsidiary of The Authority. They handle public relations and advocacy issues for vampires. But they as well as the monarchs answer to The Authority." I turned to look at her, "however, many monarchs try to circumvent the edicts from The Authority. It's not a perfect system."

Sookie shrugged, "what ruling system is perfect?"

I grin, "true enough." I look at her, "are you ready to go to Bon Temps?"

She let out a big sigh, "I am… indeed."

"Indeed," we said the last word together. Then we both laughed at our like-mindedness. "I have just a few things to tell Pamela. Do you mind waiting here?"

"Of course," she replied. I gave her a kiss before I left the office to seek out Pam. I heard Godric and her start talking followed by giggles and chuckles. I smiled that two of my favorite people so obviously got along well. I found Pamela still sitting with Francois and Rasul. "Everything good to go with Francois?" I asked.

"Yes, Master. All his paperwork is done, and I gave him his green card. He can start tonight if you want."

"Is this agreeable to you, Francois?"

"Absolutely. Let's go!" he said.

"Good, very good. Pamela, make sure you review the house rules with him as well," I said. "If there is nothing more for me, I need to put a plan to 'rescue' Jason in place." Yes, I stooped to use the silly air quotes. Pamela nodded, and I returned to my office.

Sookie looked up when I entered, "are we ready to go to Bon Temps?"

"We are. Do you want to join us, Godric?"

"I would enjoy that very much; let us go," he answered gesturing toward the office door.

We all made our way out to the car and had pleasant conversation all the way. During the drive I also filled Godric in on my plan. According to an email from my day man, everything was in place. We pulled up to Adele's house, and there were a number of news vans parked out front, and the now-familiar army of photographers. Their flashes began as soon as one car door opened. The three of us made it quickly into the house. I asked Sookie to check to make sure that the curtains were drawn over all the windows.

Adele walked up to us, "good evening, Eric, Godric. Come here my Sookie." I thought she was going to hug her, but she grabbed her left hand to look at her ring instead. "Oh my stars, isn't that lovely!" _Then_ she grabbed Sookie and hugged her, "I'm so happy for you, my dear."

"Thanks, Gran. I'm pretty darn happy myself," Sookie chuckled. I couldn't help but smile. I looked over at Godric and noticed that he was smiling as well. Well, I guess we were all gosh darn happy. I felt myself give off a little snort at my internal mental witticism at which Godric raised an eyebrow. I just shook my head and shrugged.

Adele finally broke the hug, turned to me, and asked, "is it time to call Fintan?" I nodded, and she pulled her iphone from her pocket and walked into the kitchen. I didn't understand why, but the kitchen seemed to be Fintan's entry portal into the family and this realm. I resisted the urge for another snort at my internal musings. After she went into the kitchen, I noticed Batanya and Clovache at the bottom of the stairs.

A few minutes later Jason emerged from the kitchen. Sookie ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. The held each other for a long time, and soon I saw Sookie's shoulders shaking. I knew that she was crying. Jason tried to reassure her, "Hey there, Sis. I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine. They really take care of you in Fae!"

Sookie pulled back to look at him as she put both of her hands on either side of his face. "If I lost you, I don't know if I could survive it."

"Ah heck, Sook. I love you too," he answered with his lazy grin. He noticed Batanya, "you doin' OK, Batanyer? Last time I saw you, you didn't look so good."

Batanya nodded at him and stepped forward, "I am well, Jason. I must thank you for saving my life. I … am in your debt."

Godric and I looked at each other. We knew what those words meant from a Britlingen, but I was pretty sure that Jason didn't. If he requested it, Batanya would guard Jason for the rest of his life without further fee.

Jason shook his head, "I'm just glad that you're OK. I don't want anyone to die on account of me."

Batanya squinted her eyes for a moment, "even so, the debt is there."

Jason just smiled, "OK. Whatever you say." Batanya nodded at him in return.

Fintan took that opportunity to enter the living room. "Northman, I've heard your plan, and while it has merit, I'm holding you accountable for the safety of my grandchildren. Again."

Before I could say anything, Sookie spoke, "it's a good plan, Grandaddy. I think it will work just fine."

Fintan smiled at her, "I think so as well, Sookie." He paused for a moment, "I understand congratulations are in order? Did your fiancé present you with a ring of engagement?"

Sookie beamed, "he sure did." She held out her hand to her grandfather. He took it, and I would swear he had an imaginary jeweler's loop as he looked at it.

Finally he nodded and turned to me, "I am satisfied; it is a suitable ring."

Godric and I looked at each other. We both knew that fairies placed a lot of value on such things as jewels bestowed upon their relatives. I doubted that Sookie knew that she had just passed a major fairy test. Or rather I had.

Sookie chimed in, "So, Batanya, Clovache, are y'all up on this plan?"

They both nodded and Clovache answered, "yes, we are only awaiting the arrival of the dae attorney."

Adele added, "Desmond is on his way here right now."

"Come with me Batanya. You are going to Roswell, so let's get you looking a little more like an earthling," Sookie chuckled, and Batanya followed her up the stairs, presumably to change into different clothes. Sookie's witticism was totally lost on her.

Once they went up the stairs, I presented Jason with the necessary items for our plan, "here is a driver's license and car title for Tanya Bates, and here are the keys to the car." Jason took the items, and I continued, "here is a description of both the car and where it is located. This map should be what Batanya needs to teleport the two of you right to it. Finally, here is a cell phone. As soon as you get to the car you must call your godfather. This is necessary in case the police do a check of your story. This call is what is supposed to signal Mr. Cataliades to charter a plane to Roswell to meet you. Do you understand?"

Jason nodded, "yeah, Grandaddy explained the plan to me. I think I've got this."

I continued, "Jason, you need to know that the agent from Homeland Security, Mr. Pettigrew, has been told by Sophie Ann that you and Sookie are fairies. So far we've been able to call into question the existence of fairies, but he's like a dog with a bone. He will try to trick you or test you to prove that you are fae. If he comes to question you, you must be on your guard. You must state that you do not wish to be questioned without the presence of your attorney. If he continues to try to question you then, he has violated your constitutional rights, and you have cause for an action against him." Jason nodded taking all the information in. "However, the Department of Homeland Security is not expressly held to the constitution in the case of terrorists. Be very, very careful around him, OK?" He nodded again. "Now tell me your story." He looked perplexed. "The story you're going to tell the Roswell police."

"Oh, well, uhm, I was home, and all these bad men came for me, and I fought as hard as I could, but eventually they knocked me out. When I come to, I was in this car or van or something, and all the men who took me were fighting. I managed to sneak away, but I was real dizzy and such, and I just kind of wandered around for a while. After a day or so, I hooked up with this little lady who give me a ride. Then I kind of started putting the events in order in my head, and she was nice enough to drive me to this here police station." He looked at me, "that good enough?"

"Where did you get food?" I asked.

"I had some money in my pocket, and I bought some food at different gas stations as I was wandering around. It was at one of them stations that I met Miss Tanya. She was driving south, and I just hooked a ride."

Just then Sookie and Batanya descended the stairs, and all of us let out a collective gasp at Batanya's transformation. She was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a pretty peasant blouse. Most startling of all, though, was her hair which she usually wore pulled severely back into a tight bun at the back of her head. However, now her hair was down. She was actually quite pretty with her long curly dark blonde hair. Sookie had apparently also put some makeup on her as well.

Jason was the first to speak, "DAMN… Batanyer. You look real pretty." Batanya simply raised an eyebrow.

Jason handed her the things she needed, and she placed them into the little purse that Sookie had provided for her. Godric took Clovache and her over to the dining table to go over the maps for teleportation. While he did that, Mr. Cataliades came in and was also brought up to speed on everything that was happening.

Jason started to chuckle, and everyone turned to look at him. He shook his head, "kind of feels like a mission brief for some spy movie. Does that make me Jason Bourne?" Even I had to chuckle at that.

Godric and the Britlingens emerged from the dining room to join us all in the living room. I looked around at everyone assembled. "Is everyone clear on what needs to be done?" Everyone nodded. "May I suggest, that Jason and Batanya, or rather Tanya, get your stories together on the drive to Roswell." They both nodded. "Let's go then."

Fintan stood, "one moment please. Jason come here." Jason crossed to his grandfather. With a wave of his hand he made Jason look a little dirty and bedraggled. "You don't want to have to explain how you got so clean, do you?" Jason chuckled and shook his head. That was a very good idea, and I'm briefly concerned that I didn't think of it. Batanya stepped forward, took Jason's hand, and they disappeared. A few moments later Mr. Cataliades phone rang. How about that, Jason was apparently good at following instructions. By my estimation, Jason and Batanya should arrive at the Roswell police station in about an hour and a half. Mr. C would then arrive a half hour or so later, having taken his imaginary charter plane flight immediately after Jason's phone call. By my calculations, even if FBI and Homeland Security were somewhere in the north of New Mexico, it would still take them at least an hour to get to Roswell. Now it was all in the timing.

I had arranged for a chartered a plane from Roswell to bring Jason home. With any luck, he and Mr. C should leave the police station before FBI and Homeland Security arrive in Roswell and be back in Louisiana before dawn. If they couldn't get out of the police station that quickly, then Jason should be home sometime tomorrow. Either way, Mr. C was going to be there with him all the way.

Just then something occurred to me. "Mr. Cataliades, could you call Jason back, please? I need to tell him something." Mr. C dialed the number and handed me the phone.

"Hello?" Jason answered.

"Jason, this is Eric. Make sure that Batanya knows to drive the car back to the starting point after she is let go from the police station. It would be really bad if the police discovered her car abandoned in Roswell."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I'll tell her. Anything else?" he asked.

"Whatever happens, if Agents Langford and Pettigrew get there before Mr. Cataliades, don't talk to them without your attorney. OK?"

"OK, got it. See you again soon," he answered and hung up.

I looked around the room. Everyone was a little tense, but they each nodded and gave me a brief smile. This had to work. For a while we just sat around and talked as the clock ticked down the time to zero hour – when Jason would arrive at the Roswell police station. At one point Godric did a perimeter check to make sure we were safe here at the farmhouse. Finally, it was time for Jason's arrival. I wish I had thought to have surveillance cameras secured in Roswell, but I guess those might have been detected.

Sookie asked, "let's turn on the TV and see if anything is reported."

"Actually, I think a little news coverage may help us with the authorities. How do you think we should go about that?" I asked.

Just then the house phone rang. Sookie got up to answer it, "Hello?"

I could hear Jason on the other end, "Sook, it's me."

She played her role perfectly, shrieking, "Jason? Where are you?"

"I'm at the police station in Roswell in New Mexico. I called Uncle Des a while back, but I wanted to make sure I was safe before I called you and Gran."

"Are you OK?" Sookie asked.

"I'm fine. Hitched a ride with a pretty girl," he chuckled. "You know me."

Sookie chuckled in return. "So Uncle Des is going to bring you home?"

"I sure hope so. Anyway, they are asking me to go with them right now. I'll see you soon, Sook. Tell Gran I love her, and I'll be home in a little bit."

"Bye, Jason, see you soon."

"Bye, Sook." And he hung up. Sookie looked up to me and smiled.

"I think this phone call gives us what we need to go public. Sookie, do you feel like talking to the press?"

"I guess I can, Eric, but why do you think this is necessary?" she asked.

"Insurance. In case those agents get there first, or they try to keep Jason. Going public might help prevent an… undesirable outcome."

She thought that over, and said, "OK. Let those people in the vans know that I'll be saying something in a few minutes. I'll be right back." She ran upstairs and about three minutes later she came back down. She had changed her shirt and put on a little light lipstick. In the meantime, Godric had notified the news vans of an upcoming statement from Sookie. I peeked through the curtains and even though he had just announced this impromptu press conference, in the space of just a few minutes, all of the news vans had already put a bank of microphones on the edge of the porch.

I looked at Sookie, "ready?"

She inhaled deeply and then sighed, "sure, why not? Let's get this done. Theoretically, I don't know very much so this shouldn't take long."

As she was checking herself in the mirror, we heard the news broadcast cut in, "we are about to have an impromptu press conference from Miss Sookie Stackhouse in Bon Temps, Louisiana. As a reminder, Miss Stackhouse's brother Jason was abducted last Sunday, and he has not been heard from since. A cortege of vans and SUV's was found in northern New Mexico which had alledgedly contained the kidnapped Mr. Stackhouse, but no other word on his whereabouts has been heard. Since then there have been several related arrests in and around Las Vegas, including the titular vampire monarch of Nevada, Felipe de Castro. The only news from the either Stackhouse since Sunday night has been a press conference held at the Bonne Chance Hotel ballroom, wherein it was discovered that Miss Stackhouse and her vampire beau Eric Northman had become engaged, and that an agent from Homeland Security had been harassing the Stackhouses and those aiding them. We now take you to Bon Temps, where we await a statement from Miss Stackhouse momentarily."

I look at Sookie, "showtime…"

She takes my hand, "come with me?" I smile and nod at her. Hand in hand we walk through the front door and up to the microphones. Suddenly there are very bright lights shining in both of our eyes. I see Sookie throw up a hand to block out the light at first, and then she brings her hand down as her eyes adjust.

She walks up to the microphones. She cleared her throat, "hello, y'all. My name is Sookie Stackhouse." She paused as the press corps chuckled; I guess the self introduction was unnecessary. She smiled back at them, "anyway… I wanted to let you know that we've just heard from Jason. He is safe. Somehow he has ended up in Roswell, New Mexico. He caught a ride to the police station there. Our godfather has gone there to bring him home. We hope to have him here within a few hours. I just thought that since you all have been waiting on word about Jason, just like the rest of us, that I should let you know. I don't really know more than that. Thank you."

The reporters started shouting out questions in cacophony until one question could be heard. "Miss Stackhouse, where has Jason been these last few days?"

"I don't know yet. We just got the phone call, and he told us what I've just told you. I assume we'll learn more directly."

"Now that Felipe de Castro has been captured and Jason is coming home, is this ordeal finally over?"

Sookie looked back at me, so I decided to field that question, "we are very lucky in that it seems that the immediate threat may indeed be over. However, until we learn the reasons why these particular vampires wanted so desperately to have Jason and Sookie, we will remain vigilant."

"Do you think there may be other vampires who may want them as well? What makes them so special?"

"I didn't say that. The fact is, most vampires just want to lead quiet lives, so they are law-abiding citizens. What drove these two particular vampires to conspire to kidnap Jason and Sookie is unknown to us at this time. Until we discover that reason, we will continue to protect the Stackhouses."

"Miss Stackhouse, how did it feel to hear from your brother?"

She laughed, "how do you think? It felt like a miracle! It felt like the answer to our prayers."

"Do you pray, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Of course I do. I know that my Gran, Eric, and I all were praying for Jason's safe return."

"So you pray, Mr. Northman?"

This was a bizarre question for me to answer. I decided to tell the truth, and let them draw their own conclusions. I stepped back up to the microphone, "I do pray. It is a common misconception that all vampires are not religious. Vampire-hating churches such as the Fellowship of the Sun will especially tell you that. The reality is that we bring a lot of the beliefs of our human lives, such as honor, religion, and duty, into this life. You have to remember all vampires were once human. If a good person is changed into a vampire, they will likely be a good vampire, and conversely, if they were bad, chances are they will remain so."

I looked over at Sookie, and she nodded that she was done to me. I turned back to the microphones, "thank you all for your attention. Sookie wants to return to her family inside to await the return of her brother." Sookie smiled as we turned to go back inside. Just before we got to the door, she turned back to the microphones.

"I just want to comment on something Eric just said. I've been saying since this whole ordeal started that just like with humans, there are good vampires and bad vampires. I have always believed this, and the actions of the last few weeks have only confirmed this belief. Just like humans, you have to judge each vampire on their own merits, and not condemn an entire group just because you don't understand everything about them. Please, next time you are thinking about condemning vampires, ask yourself, 'am I doing this out of ignorance, or prejudice, or due to propaganda from hate-mongering, false, so-called churches?' And really be honest with yourself and the answers you come up with. That's all. Good night."

She joined me at the door, and we went inside. Once the door was shut she turned to me, "I meant every word, but that should make Nan happy at least."

I couldn't help it, I cracked up at that declaration. "Indeed," I added. I could hear Godric chuckling across the room. I looked at a clock and realized that Mr. Cataliades and Clovache should be teleporting to Roswell soon.

Fintan stood and embraced Sookie, "you looked wonderful on the television. You sounded very intelligent, and I'm very proud of you." He kissed her forehead.

Sookie blushed at the compliment, "thanks, Grandaddy. That means a lot to me. Do you have to leave now?"

"I'm afraid I must. If these agents of your government come here, I should not be around. I think that Jason should be home soon." He looked at Adele, "call me if there are any problems or complications."

He crossed to Adele and hugged her and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I will see you soon." And then he was gone.

Before long, Mr. Cataliades rose from the sofa, picked up his satchel, and turned to Clovache, "are you ready, my dear?" Clovache simply nodded. It was at that moment that I had the strange thought – do Britlingens ever engage in long conversations? It seemed to me that they communicated only what they needed – at a bare minimum, and nothing else. Did Clovache and Batanya ever have sessions sharing their deep personal thoughts? Did Britlingens have deep personal thoughts? They were such a mysterious race, who knew?

Just as Mr. Cataliades and Clovache were coming together to teleport, the house phone rang again. Adele answered. We could hear her say yes and uh huh several times. When she hung up she turned to us, "that was Agent Langford of the FBI. He said they'd gotten word of Jason in Roswell. They want to meet with us here at the farmhouse since they are in Shreveport right now. I guess they will wait with us until he gets here."

I thought that was at least better than trying to catch Jason alone in Roswell and question him there. Mr. C nodded to me as he and Clovache teleported out. Now it was just a waiting game. I wished that he and Clovache could just bring Jason back, but we had to be cognizant of some of the bounds of mortals. We would just have to wait for the charter plane to bring them to Shreveport and then to Bon Temps.

We were aware that it was well past midnight, but we were just sitting around the living room of the farmhouse talking when we heard a knock on the door. Since it was her home (and I knew that Thalia was keeping watch from the outside), we all waited for Adele to get up and answer the door. When she returned to the living room, she was accompanied by FBI and the dreaded agent from Homeland Security. I mentally shook my head at how he was still employed by the American government at this point.

I stood, "gentlemen, what can we do for you?" I braced myself because I was genuinely afraid of their answer.

Homeland Security answered, "Northman, good to see you again. I trust all is well?" He smirked at me.

I looked at him, "considering we've just heard from Jason, I would say all is indeed well. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, Mr. Northman, Miss Stackhouse, where do you think our wayward boy has been?"

I was just inches, no—centimeters away from removing this schmuck's head from his shoulders, when Adele stood up.

She said, "Mr. Langford, you have always been polite to us, and I appreciate that. I am a God-fearing woman, and I never curse, but could you please remove this asshole from my house?"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

I know this chapter took a lot longer than usual. I had been neglecting a lot of the rest of my life in order to put these chapters up as fast as I could, and that kind of caught up with me. I had planned to take a week off from writing to get caught up with everything else, but my sister, with whom I share a house, had a stroke and threw both our lives into turmoil. There are times when you just have to define your priorities, and she was definitely mine, as she should be. She's better now, but it happened right in front of me, and I have never been more frightened in my life. I've spent a lot of the last few weeks at the hospital, or chauffeuring her around afterward. I just thank God that I was here, or she would likely not be with us anymore.

Speaking of… I'm heartbroken at the death of Nelsan Ellis! Such an amazing talent! And so young! Rest in Peace, Nelsan. The world is a little less bright with your passing…

Special thanks to all who reviewed since the last posting, in order of receipt, as of 7/15/17: Jfozz, princessspot5, Asami's clown, tanseynz, ljhjelm49, jackie69, VampMad50, Perfecta999, Duckbutt, Guest, Nicolle1977, ericlover69, hummingbirdgrrl, fanfictionfan4444, suzymeinen, The Vikings Succubus, inlovinfanfic, ciasteczko, ashmo2000, Chelle6599, autumnchild25, flowerchild23, tleel

How do I know that I'm late in getting this to you? Usually by the time ashmo2000 reviews, I'm ready to post the new chapter!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – An Unexpected Interview

 _Last time:_

 _We were aware that it was well past midnight, but we were just sitting around the living room of the farmhouse talking when we heard a knock on the door. Since it was her home (and I knew that Thalia was keeping watch from the outside), we all waited for Adele to get up and answer the door. When she returned to the living room, she was accompanied by FBI and the dreaded agent from Homeland Security. I mentally shook my head at how he was still employed by the American government at this point._

 _I stood, "gentlemen, what can we do for you?" I braced myself because I was genuinely afraid of their answer._

 _Homeland Security answered, "Northman, good to see you again. I trust all is well?" He smirked at me._

 _I looked at him, "considering we've just heard from Jason, I would say all is indeed well. Is there something I can help you with?"_

" _Well, Mr. Northman, Miss Stackhouse, where do you think our wayward boy has been?"_

 _I was just inches, no—centimeters away from removing this schmuck's head from his shoulders, when Adele stood up._

 _She said, "Mr. Langford, you have always been polite to us, and I appreciate that. I am a God-fearing woman, and I never curse, but could you please remove this asshole from my house?"_

Now:

I saw Sookie slap her hand across her mouth at her grandmother's declaration. I found myself fighting the urge to laugh, and I looked over at Godric who I could tell was fighting the same impulse.

FBI nodded at Adele and said, "Mrs. Stackhouse, we mean no disrespect. We simply want to 'debrief' Jason when he gets home. We need to find out what he knows about his kidnapping."

Adele didn't budge, "I heard that odious man refer to Jason as a 'wayward boy'. That term insults Jason and the ordeal he has been through." She looked directly at Homeland Security, "I may be an old woman, but I am not stupid. You want to crucify my Jason in some way, and I won't have it."

FBI continued to plead Homeland Security's case, "Mrs. Stackhouse, I'm sure that Agent Pettigrew regrets his choice of words. Don't you, Tom?"

Homeland Security just turned his head to the side, "you must admit, Mrs. Stackhouse, that Jason's sudden appearance in the southern part of the state of New Mexico is curious at least."

Adele looked him straight in the eyes, "all I know Agent Pettigrew, is two things. First of all, that I am overjoyed that Jason is all right and coming home. And second, that I weep for your mother, because she must be overcome with shame that she raised such a son as you."

Again, I looked at Godric and we were both battling the urge to laugh our asses off. Adele was a fucking rock star. Godric vamp sped to my side, even though both agents looked curiously at him for doing so, and whispered in my ear so that only I could hear, "if she weren't so committed to Fintan, I might ask her to be mine." I looked at him and smiled. He was certainly old enough for her, I thought.

Homeland Security did not look amused. "I am only doing my job, Mrs. Stackhouse," he responded.

"That's not even remotely true, Agent Pettigrew. You are being rude and obstreperous. You have no idea how to show proper respect to a family who has suffered great loss. For several days now, we have lamented over the fate of a loved one, and you are basically… for lack of a better word… crapping all over our turmoil. I'm so sorry Sookie, I know that I've used two swear words in an amazingly short period of time. That is also due to your rudeness, Agent Pettigrew. I declare you could make the Virgin Mary curse."

For the first time since I'd met him, Homeland Security seemed to be at a loss for words. All I could think was, well done Adele. It was then that I noticed Sookie yawning out of the corner of my eye. I walked over to her, "my love, you wanted to return to work tomorrow. Perhaps you should go to bed. I will awaken you if Jason gets here before dawn." I reached out my hand to her, and she took it and stood up.

"You're right. Gran, I'm going to try to turn in and get some sleep before I have to go to work in the morning. You guys promise to come get me when Jason gets here?"

Adele didn't hesitate, "we certainly will my girl. You go get some rest."

I looked at her, "I'll escort you to your room." I looked back at the people in the living room, "I'll be right back."

We walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Once we shut the door, she started pulling her clothes off. She walked into her bathroom and returned in her pajamas with little pink hearts and flowers while I sat on the edge of her bed. She crossed to me and straddled my lap, and I hugged her to me. She said, "I'm going to miss going to sleep with you, my Eric."

"As I am going to miss you, my Sookie. Just think though, soon we'll be sleeping together every day," I kissed her softly and hugged her even more tightly to me. "Do you think you are going to be able to sleep in here?"

She smiled at me, "I'm actually pretty sleepy and tired. But you guys come get me when Jason gets here, OK?"

"If he gets here before dawn, I'll make sure of it, my love," I told her.

"K, then. Goodnight, my handsome fiancé," she smiled at me.

That made me smile back at her. "Goodnight, my beautiful future wife," I told her and kissed her again. Then I laid her down in her bed and pulled her covers up. I stood and looked down on her; she was so, so beautiful. I bent down and kissed her on her forehead one last time before heading downstairs.

When I got downstairs, I picked up a conversation in the middle. Adele was saying, "Agent Langford, Pettigrew…" I noticed her voice dipped on the latter name, "can I get you something to drink? It might be a long night, and it would be no trouble at all to put on a pot of coffee." Adele was ever the gracious hostess. Even to Homeland Security.

FBI answered, "I think I could go for a cup of coffee." He turned and looked at Homeland Security who simply nodded.

"Good, I need to be doing something. I've got a case of the jitters," Adele said as she walked into the kitchen. Before she walked through the door, she turned back to ask, "Godric, Eric, would either of you like one of those True Bloods?"

I shook my head, "none for me, Adele, thank you for asking."

Godric walked over to her, "I'd like one, but let me help you in the kitchen."

"Why, thank you Godric. Obviously your mother raised _you_ right." She looked over at Homeland Security before she left the room entirely, followed by Godric.

The agents settled themselves on the sofa. I crossed over to the front window and peeked out through the curtains. I saw that the news vans were also keeping vigil for Jason's arrival. I closed the curtains back up and turned around with my hands behind my back to face the agents on the sofa. I really had nothing to say to them. I just stood there, and they just sat there. For quite a while. Apparently, they had nothing to say to me either. I put my hands in my pockets and continued looking at them, standing completely still. I listened to their breathing and their heartbeats. FBI cleared his throat but didn't say anything. Homeland Security sniffed his nose and crossed his legs. I just continued to stare at them. Soon I heard their heartbeats increasing little by little. I fought the desire to smirk at how uncomfortable I was making them. I didn't need to be a telepath to know they were both now wondering just how long did it take to make a pot of coffee?

A few minutes later Adele and Godric emerged from the kitchen to put the agents out of their misery. Godric was carrying a tray for Adele that he set on the coffee table in front of the agents. "Help yourselves to coffee, gentlemen," Adele offered as she sat in one of the wing-back chairs across from the sofa while Godric sat in the other one. I decided to remain comfortably standing where I was. The agents each made themselves a cup of coffee as did Adele. Godric held his bottle of True Blood. Again we descended into silence.

After an uncomfortable five minutes which probably seemed much longer to the humans in the room, Adele broke the silence, "Godric, let's play our little game, shall we?"

Godric smiled, "as you wish, Adele."

Adele thought for a moment before she said, "Bastille Day."

"Ah," Godric said. "For once you've picked something that I was actually present for. Eric was there, too, along with his friend Francois who arrived at Fangtasia tonight. At the time, we weren't exactly sure what was going on because there was a lot of chaos and confusion. People were running violently through the streets of Paris. Some were dedicated to a cause, others were just frightened or looking for loved ones. The three of us were staying at an inn in the part of the city where most of the action was taking place, and we just watched from one of the second story windows overlooking the street."

I decided to chime in, "it was bound to happen sooner or later. The treasury of France was nearly bankrupt. The nobility were exempt from paying taxes which meant the entire burden for taxation fell to the commoners. Many of them had been taxed to the point of starvation, and they out-numbered the nobility a hundred to one. "

Adele turned to me, "you mean the nobility had all the wealth, but they paid no taxes?"

Godric and I answered together, "Exactly."

"Well, that's just messed up," Adele observed.

"You think?" I asked. "In addition, the king had a special kind of indictment letter that he could issue against anyone. If he did, you were taken to the Bastille with no explanation of any charges, and often there were no specific charges at all, and you were just held there as long as the king wanted you there.

"Kind of like Guantanamo Bay," Homeland Security added.

"Indeed," Godric looked at Homeland Security. "When they stormed the Bastille, the rioters discovered there were only seven prisoners in there under the king's indictment. But by then, things had deteriorated to such a state, that the number didn't matter. There was no turning back on the revolution that followed. In addition to this non-specific indictment, penalties for the pettiest of crimes were quite severe. It is sad that all of that could have been avoided if the nobility hadn't been so greedy with their wealth and had shouldered their fair share of the taxes."

Adele softly snorted, "kind of reminds me of today, where the wealthy keep getting more and more tax breaks, leaving the heaviest tax burden to the middle class."

Godric nodded, "it does often seem as if history is repeating itself. Especially if you've already lived through certain events."

FBI asked, "how long did you stay in Paris after that?"

Godric answered, "we stayed for a little while longer, but it became impossible to stay after a few weeks. We had money, and anyone with money was at risk of being classified with the nobles. Once the common people had a taste of power, they became almost drunk with it. No one was safe from them. We decided that discretion was called for in this case and made our way into England as soon as we could. Shortly afterward, the public executions of nobility began. Vampires are not immune to the guillotine."

"No, I suppose not," FBI mused. Homeland Security was looking down at the floor, and he snorted. Then Godric began to laugh, followed by FBI and finally Adele. Could we be having a bonding moment with the agents?

Godric asked, "Mr. Langford, Mr. Pettigrew, where do you live? You're not from Louisiana are you?"

The two agents looked at each other. FBI spoke first, "I live in Austin; I work out of the field office there."

Homeland Security looked at Godric a moment before answering, "I work out of Washington, live in Virginia."

"So you two didn't know each other before this case?" Adele asked.

FBI answered, "we were both attending a seminar in Dallas when we got called for the case. We briefly met at the FBI office there before driving to Shreveport together."

Adele nodded. And… we fell once again into an uncomfortable, awkward silence. I looked at the clock over the mantle. By my calculations it was about fourteen minutes slow. Even so, it's ticking was the only sound in the room. Also by my calculations, Jason and Cataliades were at least still an hour and a half away – if they had no trouble getting away from the Roswell Police Station. I was beginning to think that this just may be the longest hour and a half in my thousand years on earth.

Finally, Homeland Security broke the silence, "Mr. Northman, Godric, be straight with me. Are there other supernatural creatures out there besides vampires?" So much for our previous bonding moment. I looked at Godric, and he was looking at me. Then, in perfect synchronization, we both turned and faced Homeland Security. At first, neither of us said a word.

Finally, Godric answered, "just what do you think is 'out there' as you said?"

He looked frustrated, "Sophie Ann LeClerq said there were all manner of supernatural creatures 'out there'. She said there were werewolves and other were-animals, shifters who could change into any animal, fairies, demons, and others. Was she being honest?" Wow, Sophie Ann really spilled the beans to try to save herself; ironically, that was pretty much a death sentence right there.

Godric thought about his answer for a moment, "Mr. Pettigrew, I can tell you this: vampires planned their great reveal for decades, almost a century in fact. Although preparations got a little more frantic in the last two decades due to the rapidly expanding development of law enforcement forensic sciences and increased technological surveillance. Then with the invention of True Blood, revealing ourselves finally seemed a safe proposition."

Homeland Security and FBI took in that information. Then Homeland Security asked, "so?"

"So, the only thing that really changed in your life was that one morning you woke up not knowing that vampires existed and went to bed that night knowing that they did. The world didn't really change; we'd always been here. The only thing that changed was your knowledge of it. Further, you also began to learn over time that most of the bad myths about vampires depicted in fiction and cinema were mostly fantasy. That, in fact, we weren't really all that different from you."

"With a few very notable exceptions," FBI added with a raised eyebrow.

Godric smiled and nodded, "indeed."

Homeland Security narrowed his eyes in contemplation, "what's your point?"

Godric tilted his head to the side, "if I were to either confirm or deny your question, Agent Pettigrew, what would you do with your new knowledge? What would change in your world besides the acquisition of new information? You mentioned that Sophie Ann said there were werewolves, for example. If you found out this were true, how would you possibly find or identify one? Would you report this information to your superiors? What would they do with that knowledge? What makes you think that Eric or I even know the answers to your question? What makes you think that Sophie Ann LeClerq isn't anything but a liar who would do or say anything to save herself? So many questions, Agent Pettigrew, and each one is far more important than the one you asked. So again I say, either way the world wouldn't change. If there are other supernatural creatures 'out there', they've always been out there. If there aren't, well then, the world is as it has always been."

Both agents remained silent for a moment, and then a smile spread across FBI's face. Homeland Security shook his head, "you really aren't going to tell me, are you?"

Godric shrugged, "maybe there is nothing to tell…"

Homeland Security smirked, "OK, play it your way, Obi Wan. One way or another I _will_ find out eventually." I knew that Godric had been a _Star Wars_ fan, as was I, and had caught the reference. In fact, he was probably flattered. I mentally chuckled; if the force was with anyone, it was Godric.

Godric smiled, "of that I have no doubt, Agent Pettigrew."

And there was that silence again. Finally, FBI asked, "I have a question." Homeland Security turned and looked at his colleague. "What is a vampire sheriff?"

Yikes, what was I going to do with that one? Fortunately, Godric answered, "you gentlemen know about the vampire system of monarchs, yes?" They nodded. "Each monarchy is divided into areas. Each area is overseen by a sheriff. The sheriff is a combination ruler and law enforcement official. The sheriffs are the ones who keep order in the kingdoms and ride roughshod over the vampires who tend to be … well … for lack of better words, a little lawless. The sheriff's maintain peace between the vampires in their area and the human world."

FBI continued, "every area has a sheriff?" Godric nodded. FBI asked, "who is the sheriff of this area?"

There it was. I looked at Godric who seemed to mull the question over for a moment, and then he nodded.

"I am," I answered. Both agents seemed impressed for some reason.

Godric added, "gentlemen, it seems as if the monarchy system may be on its way out, and if I'm honest with myself, I'm not terribly saddened by that. Even though there are some really good vampires among the monarchs. However, it is my hope that the sheriff system will remain in place in some form. There are vampires that I would worry about if there were no one to… rein them in."

Both agents nodded, and FBI asked, "what are your thoughts on the sheriff issue, Mr. Northman."

"I agree with Godric."

Homeland Security asked, "are you afraid of losing your power?"

I smirked, "not at all. In fact, it would be a great relief of my time. But like Godric, I have concerns for vampire/human relations if there is no one for wayward vampires to answer to." There… I'd used his 'wayward' word.

"Shouldn't vampires simply be expected to obey the laws the same as anyone else," Homeland Security pressed.

I smiled at him. "Absolutely, but as Agent Langford pointed out, there are a few significant differences between vampires and humans. As such, there needs to be a vampire with actual power to control the ones who would normally resist all control. And I'm not talking about the power of the office." I thought for a moment, "perhaps if there were a few older vampires substantially represented in the human law enforcement agencies, I would not be so concerned."

FBI asked, "would you be willing to be in human law enforcement?"

I shook my head, "I would not."

Homeland Security asked, "why not?"

I smiled, "several reasons. I have extensive business holdings that I need to run. I have acquired wealth in my long life that I need to manage. But perhaps most importantly, I have just gotten engaged to be married. I am looking forward to spending as much time as possible with my Sookie." I think over my next statement so there is no misunderstanding, "it was for these reasons that I was already considering resigning my office."

Homeland Security looked at Godric, "what about you? Would you consider joining a human law enforcement agency?"

Godric shrugged, "perhaps, if the circumstances were right."

"So you haven't accumulated a lot of wealth?" FBI asked. I couldn't help but snort. "From Mr. Northman's reaction, apparently you have."

Godric nodded, "indeed."

Homeland Security asked, "I don't care if this is rude, but how much wealth do you have, Godric?"

Adele couldn't help a tsk in admonition.

Homeland Security defended his question, "there is a huge difference between a little wealth and a lot of wealth. If I were to recommend Godric going forward, I would need to know."

Godric thought over his answer, "fair enough. I have a few billion in various places around the world."

Both agents just stared at him. Finally FBI spoke, "billion? With a 'b'?" Godric nodded. FBI whistled.

"And you would consider a job with a human law enforcement agency?" Homeland Security asked in disbelief. I was just wondering when this conversation turned into a job interview for Godric.

Godric smiled, "obviously, I wouldn't be doing it for the money."

Both agents said together, "obviously." There was a moment of silence before we all started laughing.

When we'd all settled down a bit, FBI asked, "why would you be doing it?"

Godric tilted his head to the side, "because it might make a difference. Because it might help vampire/human relations. Because it sounds interesting and like something I might be good at." He thought for another moment, "because once things with the Stackhouses are settled, I have nothing else on my agenda, and I've been bored for quite a while. I think this may be just the thing to feel like I am contributing to my society." Then he just shrugged.

FBI followed up, "is there a number where we can reach you?"

Godric reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out his card and handed it to FBI.

Homeland Security asked, "do you know how to use a gun, Godric?"

Again, I couldn't help but snort. Godric looked at me, not quite in admonition, but close. "Yes, Mr. Pettigrew. Guns are among the weapons with which I am proficient." That statement gave both agents pause.

I felt I needed to add, "gentlemen, Godric is one of THE most respected vampires in the world. He was offered many, many monarchies. His working for human law enforcement would do a lot for vampire/human relations, and it would also encourage others of an age to consider the same kind of work. You should also know that Godric was the sheriff of Area Nine in Texas – basically Dallas/Fort Worth and northeast Texas for over fifty years. His area was a model for all the other areas in the country." I looked at both agents, "it was one of the most peaceful areas on this continent."

Homeland Security asked, "why was he so successful as sheriff of that area?"

I thought that was actually a very good question if someone was truly trying to understand the vampire ruling system. "Because, as I've said, Godric is one of the most respected vampires on the planet. The only vampires who don't know of him are surely the most newly made vampires. His reputation is international. No one in their right mind would EVER think of going against his edicts." I thought about what seemed to be happening among us at this moment. "Mr. Pettigrew, if you are looking for important information to share with your superiors, this would be it. Having someone like Godric working for the government would be a huge asset. Remember when I asked the Bon Temps sheriff to let Godric look at the evidence when Jason was kidnapped? That's because Godric is like a living forensic laboratory. And as it turns out, he was spot on in his assessment."

Homeland Security mulled those statements over for a while, with his eyes staring ahead of him.

Godric smiled, "Mr. Pettigrew, if you are thinking that I should be hired by law enforcement because once I am under the employ of an agency I will have to spill all the supernatural beans, so to speak, I'm afraid you would be sadly disappointed, and we are wasting each other's time."

Homeland Security just looked at Godric for a moment before a smirk broke across his face, "you really are good, aren't you." Godric just shrugged.

After that I was surprised how easily we all fell into comfortable conversation. I noticed Adele from time to time when her head dipped down, and she seemed to momentarily doze off. She would always come back and join in the conversation, but I could tell that she was sleepy and tired. I asked her at one point if she wanted to go and lay down until Jason arrived, but she insisted that she was fine and would wait with the rest of us.

At long, long last we heard a car pull up outside, followed by the flashing of cameras and the shouts of reporters' questions. After a few minutes of that, the front door opened and in walked Jason followed by Mr. Cataliades. Adele played her part perfectly and ran and grabbed him and hugged him to her. Jason played his part equally well. I soon began to believe that the Stackhouse family were all born actors. If I didn't trust my Sookie so much I might begin to doubt her veracity as well.

Finally Jason asked, "you got any beer, Gran?"

Adele smiled and said, "I'll be right back."

Jason sat in the chair that Godric had vacated and threw his head back as if exhausted, running his hands through his hair. Meanwhile, Godric and Mr. Cataliades grabbed some chairs from the dining room so that everyone could have a seat. I excused myself to fetch Sookie as I had promised.

I entered her room and saw her sleeping peacefully; I hated to disturb her, but I did promise. I sat down on the side of her bed and decided the best way to wake her. I leaned down and started softly kissing down the side of her neck. I was only a few kisses in before she moaned, and that sound went straight to my lower region.

Crap! Maybe this tactic wasn't such a good idea. I didn't want to go back downstairs with a hard-on. I leaned back and gently shook her shoulder. In her sleepy state she reached around me and hugged herself to me. From her position in the bed, the hug put her face right up against the zipper of my jeans.

Fuck! This was worse than the moan. Finally, I said, "Sookie… Sookie… my love… wake up. Jason is here." She rubbed her face back and forth against me in her sleep.

Fuck me running, as Pam would say! By the gods, everything I tried just made my crotch situation worse and worse. At last, I decided I needed to get serious, so I said in a louder voice, "Sookie… " and a little louder, "Sookie…" and finally I was practically shouting, "SOOKIE!" She popped back with her head against my crotch… and not in a good way.

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck! I don't care if you are vampire or human or hybrid-shifter-circus-clown, if you are male, and certain things happen to your privates, it HURTS! I fell to my knees next to her bed.

Sookie's eyes got really wide when she figured out what had happened. For the second time tonight she slapped her hand across her mouth, "Oh my God, Eric, I'm so sorry!"

She continued looking at me as I finally let out a breath and said quite eloquently, "ouch." After a moment I saw a small smirk growing on her face. It wasn't much longer before I could hear the soft snorts from her closed-mouth laughing which inevitably led to full-out guffaws. I raised my eyebrow at her.

She tried to collect herself and said between chuckles, "I really am sorry. It's just… I don't know… the look on your face was really comical. I'm so sorry Eric."

By now the pain had mostly begun to subside. I looked at her, and both her eyebrows were near her scalp. I just shook my head and slowly started to chuckle. The look of relief on her face then became even more comical until we were both laughing together. After the laughter had run its course, I said again, "Jason is downstairs."

She jumped out of bed and headed toward the door. "Uhm, Sookie, do you have a robe?" She looked at me quizzically, and I told her, "FBI and Homeland Security are still downstairs." She nodded and grabbed her robe, and then we headed downstairs.

About half-way down Sookie took off into a run, Jason stood, and they hugged each other. Even though this was a repeat of a scene they'd played earlier this evening, Sookie began crying again. She was either the best actress I knew, or the fear of losing Jason had a much deeper impact on her than I'd thought.

Jason said, "I'm OK, Sook. I'm tired, but I'm OK. Please don't cry. You know I can't stand it when you cry."

FBI and Homeland Security had stood when Sookie ran into the room. Surprisingly, they politely moved from in front of the sofa. Once Jason and she broke apart, I took her hand, and we sat down on the sofa together. I put my arm around her, and she curled into me. Mr. Cataliades sat on the sofa on the other side of Sookie. The agents took the chairs brought in from the dining room while Godric opted to stand against the living room wall.

And… here we all sat. Adele broke the silence, "have you had anything to eat, Jason?"

Jason nodded, "I had something I got at the airport. I'm not really hungry."

Adele continued, "are you sure you're OK?"

Jason just closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair, "yeah, I'm fine."

Before the room had time to sink into another silence, Homeland Security asked, "Jason, I know you're tired, but we need to ask you a few questions. We'll be as brief as we can."

Without opening his eyes, Jason answered in a very soft voice, "yeah, sure, OK. Ask away."

FBI asked, "Jason, what happened at your house last Sunday?"

Jason slowly opened his eyes, "Uhm, I was supposed to hook up with my friend Hoyt. We were going to go down to Merlottes to watch the ballgame on their big flat screen. I was putting some things into my truck bed, when out of nowhere all these guys kind of jumped me. Luckily, one of the things I had intended to put in the truck was the machete we use for trimming away undergrowth. I was able to knock the first guys away with it. I reached into the truck and pulled out the welding torch and the long-blade hedge clippers, which I stuck into the back of my pants. I got the torch lit, and between it and the machete… well… I put up a pretty good fight, if I say so myself. I guess I was lucky because, I mean it was kinda weird, they had guns, but it didn't seem like they wanted to use them.

"I'm not super clear on all the details, but at some point someone musta conked me on the head, cause next thing I know, I'm waking up in this van or something. But all those guys was real mad at each other, cause they was all out on the highway just a-screamin' and a-fightin' one another. It didn't seem like no one was actually watching me. So I snuck out of the van, and I was going to make my way to the trees, but I seen that one of the guys was down on the ground with his phone in his hand, so I picked it up and lit out for the trees. That's when I called you," he nodded at Sookie, and she returned the nod. Jason's story was brilliant. It accounted for wounds from Batanya's weapons and Jason's lightballs. Sookie was right; Jason was smart.

Homeland Security then asked, "why didn't you go straight to the police? How did you end up hundreds of miles away in southern New Mexico?"

Jason looked at Homeland Security and said, "that there are some very good questions. You gotta understand that when I first come to, and for I don't know how long after – maybe a couple days – I didn't remember all this shit, sorry Gran, _stuff_ I just told you. All I knew was that I was lost, and my head hurt like hell." Adele cleared her throat. Jason rolled his eyes and continued, "hell ain't a swear word, Gran, it's in the Bible. Anyway, I was just kinda wandering lost-like. I felt real confused for a long time. When I got hungry, I'd just wander into a gas station along the highway I was walkin' and get some Cheetos or something. I seemed to have enough money in my pockets to buy food and such." He paused for a moment, "thinking back on it, it's a good thing Hoyt and I were going to Merlottes. It was his birthday, and he's my best friend, so I remember I had put enough money in my pocket to buy all the beer and food we was gonna have, plus a little extra in case we needed it. Kind of my birthday present to him. Hmmm, I guess I still owe him that." He thought for a moment and then sort of chuckled.

Sookie added, "Hoyt was the one who found your truck open and running; he called the police. He was very upset. You might want to give him a call when you get the chance." Jason looked at her and nodded.

FBI asked, "why do you think they didn't want to use their guns?"

Jason shrugged, "I don't really know. All I can figure is that if they was sent to kidnap me, then I guess they needed me alive." He shrugged again.

Homeland Security asked next, "why do you think those kidnappers were so mad at each other out on that highway?" This question worried me; I was pretty sure that if Sophie Ann had told him about Sookie's telepathy, then she had also told him about Jason's empathy, which he had obviously used to his advantage.

Jason pursed his lips and shook his head, "I have no idea. It was really weird, ya know? It's kinda like they forgot all about me."

Homeland Security said, "that doesn't make sense."

Jason chuckled, "I agree with you all the way. I have no idea what happened to them." I was more and more impressed with how Jason was playing all of this.

FBI asked, "Jason, there was a lot of blood at your house, but no bodies. However, the third van in the kidnap carpool was filled with dead bodies. Did you kill them?"

Jason's eyes got really big, "dead bodies? You think I killed them?" His breathing got heavy and his eyes filled with tears, "I was protecting myself. I didn't mean to kill anybody." Several tears made their way down his cheeks, and he was practically gasping for air, "I didn't know. Do you think I killed them? I never hurt anyone before." Now the dam of tears broke, and I could tell that this was no act. Sookie ran to him and sat on the arm of the chair while she hugged him. Adele sat on the other arm of his chair and also hugged him. Jason wailed, "oh God… "

Adele cooed softly, "Jason, honey, calm down. You've done nothing wrong."

His voice cracked as he spoke, "how can you say that, Gran? People are dead because of me." He uttered a heartbreaking sob, "do you think God will punish me?" Sookie looked over at me, and she had tears rolling down her cheeks as well.

Homeland Security spoke very softly, "Jason, look at me." He waited until Jason did. "Jason, I have a son in the Marines. He is currently stationed in Afghanistan. He has seen extensive combat, and I'm sure he has had to kill some of his enemy. Do you think he's a murderer?"

Jason sniffed, "no, of course not. He's a hero."

"How is your situation any different? You were confronted by an enemy, and like my son, you defended yourself. Your grandmother was right. You've done nothing wrong." Was this the same agent from Homeland Security who arrested Rasul just to get Sookie out of hiding? Wow. Jason even seemed to be calming down.

"You really think so?" Jason asked almost childlike.

Homeland Security nodded, "I do. In fact, I'd say that your efforts to save yourself were rather heroic." I never thought the law enforcement interviews would turn out like this. I looked up at Godric, and I could tell that he was just as amazed as I was.

 **A/N: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Thanks to all who reviewed since the last posting, as of 7/22/17: Asami's clown, Jadajuice, ljhjelm49, princessspot5, jazzma18, MsNorthman, hucki –danke!, 3 Guests, jackie69, FlowerChild23, tleel, hummingbirdgrrl, ericlover69, Duckbutt, Nicolle1977, Bbrock525, pattyfullwood, LoverPati, Perfecta999, drkraez, ciasteczko

Special thanks to MandiM who was the 100th reader to favorite my story. Thanks for putting me in triple digits!

What do you know? I even beat Ashmo2000!


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – Operation Louisiana Storm

 _Last time:_

 _Homeland Security spoke very softly, "Jason, look at me." He waited until Jason did. "Jason, I have a son in the Marines. He is currently stationed in Afghanistan. He has seen extensive combat, and I'm sure he has had to kill some of his enemy. Do you think he's a murderer?"_

 _Jason sniffed, "no, of course not. He's a hero."_

" _How is your situation any different? You were confronted by an enemy, and like my son, you defended yourself. Your grandmother was right. You've done nothing wrong." Was this the same agent from Homeland Security who arrested Rasul just to get Sookie out of hiding? Wow. Jason even seemed to be calming down._

" _You really think so?" Jason asked almost childlike._

 _Homeland Security nodded, "I do. In fact, I'd say that your efforts to save yourself were rather heroic." I never thought the law enforcement interviews would turn out like this. I looked up at Godric, and I could tell that he was just as amazed as I was_.

Now:

Adele looked up at the agents sitting side-by-side in the dining room chairs, "gentlemen, do you think it would be possible to finish this at some other time? Jason is obviously very tired, and he's now emotionally in turmoil."

Homeland Security stood up, "Yes, Mrs. Stackhouse. I think we got the answers we needed." He shifted on his feet, "I thank you for your hospitality."

FBI stood at that, "yes, thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Stackhouse." He looked at Jason, "I'm sorry this has happened to you, Jason. Here's my card. Call me if you think of any more information that might be helpful." He paused for a moment, "you can also call me, and I can set you up with some victim counseling if you'd like. There are agencies set up to help victims of crimes, so don't think you have to shoulder this all on your own." He ended with a little smile.

Adele stood up and faced the agents, "Mr. Langford, I thank you as ever for your courtesy and your kindness. Mr. Pettigrew, I must admit that we are ending our evening in a much different tone than we began it, and I thank you for the kind words you've said to my grandson."

FBI nodded, but Homeland Security added, "Mrs. Stackhouse, I am a blunt, plain-spoken man. That has caused any number of problems in both my personal and professional lives, and I truly did not mean to offend. I often deal with some of the most heinous individuals, and sometimes I forget that there are decent people out there. I thank you again for your hospitality."

Adele gave him the most adorable smile and nodded. I looked across the room and noticed Godric smirking. It was just a shame that Adele was spoken for, because she and Godric could have been great together. Humans would never understand how differently vampires saw the concept of age. Just because someone looked older, didn't necessarily mean that we perceived them as older _and_ less attractive. Attraction was attraction regardless of how old the person in question was or even looked. And Godric was definitely attracted to Adele. It was only our mutual respect for Fintan that kept Godric from acting upon that attraction.

I remembered when Sookie joked about what Adele and Fintan might have been up to one night. I don't think she fully understood the reality of that statement, and how, if circumstances were different, it might have been Adele and Godric. And if I were totally honest with myself, although I would never think of another woman the way that I thought of Sookie, Adele was hot! That bode well for my future with Sookie, for they always say if you want to know the future beauty of your beloved, just look at her family. I knew from my Sookie that Adele was well into her 80's, but she didn't look a day older than in her 50's. And she didn't have any supernatural blood! Even though my Sookie was the most amazingly beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on, I knew from observing Adele, that she would retain that beauty well into the future. And if you added her fae blood and our blood bond into the equation, she might stay beautifully human/fae for many centuries. Indeed, I was a lucky, lucky vampire.

As soon as the human government agents were out of the house, all attention turned to Jason again. He looked up at us with tired, sad eyes, "did I do OK? Do you think they believed me?" Clovache and Batanya returned into the farmhouse at that time.

I said, "Jason, you were amazing. You covered so many things they may have had questions about. Your story was very intelligent. I was very proud of you."

Godric also stated, "yes, Jason. I think they totally believed you. Are you OK?"

Jason had leaned forward in his chair, with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands, "yeah, I'm OK. I guess I just never thought about the people I might've killed."

Batanya stepped forward, "Jason, you were just defending yourself. I was there. Not only did you defend yourself, but you also saved me. You should be proud of your courage and fighting skills."

Jason just nodded, "do you know how many I killed?"

Godric crossed to Jason and put his hand on his shoulder, "Jason, listen to me." Jason looked up into his face. Godric continued, "Jason, you defended yourself. Some of the people attacking you died. It sounds to me like you were very, very brave. For the love of the gods, you saved a Britlingen from certain death. I've never heard of such a thing. You should be very proud."

Jason raised his tortured face to us, "thank you all for helping. I'm sorry that I feel bad; I just never took into account how many I may have killed."

Sookie took hold of his hand, "Jason, I'm so, so glad that you're OK. You should know that if I had the strength of your lightballs, I would've done the exact same thing. You have NOTHING to feel bad about, OK?"

Jason whispered, "Sook, apparently I killed people."

Sookie kissed the top of his head, "yes, Jason, you did. All I can say is, well done you."

Jason once again buried his face in his hands. After a few moments, I could hear him starting to chuckle. "Thanks, Sook for the 'well done'. I needed to know that I ain't a… a… a mayhem."

Sookie smiled, "oh Jason, you're the same sweet, less than mayhem fella, I've always known and loved."

Everyone cracked up at that. Sookie continued, "and now I'm going back to bed because I haven't been to work all week, and I must be there tomorrow… or rather today." She again kissed the top of Jason's head, "I'm so glad you are home and safe, Jason. Get some rest yourself, OK?"

She then came over to me and took my hand, "Goodnight again, everybody." I walked her up to her bedroom.

She climbed into her bed, and I sat down beside her. "Are you OK, my Sookie?"

She was already sleepy, "Jason's home, you're here, I'm better than OK, my Eric."

"I will have to be leaving soon. Dawn is coming. Rest well, my love." I leaned down and kissed her lips. When I sat back up she was asleep. I caressed her face, then took my leave. As I walked down the hall I saw Jason in bed with Adele sitting by his side. She looked up at me and smiled. I nodded and continued downstairs.

Godric was standing when I got there. I nodded to him and we walked out to my car to return to Shreveport. I decided that I wouldn't stay in 'our' house until Sookie was there with me, so I took us to the house that Godric, Rasul, and I had been staying in before. When we got inside we split up, each going to our own room. It was so strange that, in such a short space of time, I had gotten so accustomed to having Sookie with me in bed. Lying here alone felt incredibly lonely. I'd slept alone for over a thousand years and never once felt lonely about it. But now… now the bed felt strangely empty. I looked over at the clock, and it was past sunrise, yet I found myself staring at the ceiling. How was it possible that a vampire couldn't sleep/rest/die for the day? An enormous thought occurred to me: my life was now irreversibly entwined with Sookie's. She was my bonded, my love, my mate. Without her I would die. Gods! For the first time in a millennium I realized my own mortality. That was a tremendously daunting realization. A strange kind of panic grabbed me.

As I stared at the ceiling, I heard the door to my bedroom open. Godric looked at me, "Eric, what is this panic I am feeling from you?"

I just looked at him for a moment. "Master, I am sorry to have disturbed you." I turned my view back to the ceiling, "I just had the epiphany that my life, my very existence, was now dependent entirely on Sookie. If anything happens to her, I would not survive it." I'd told her that losing her would kill me, but I thought I was just being romantic and didn't think I fully believed the implications.

Godric smiled, "you are just now realizing this? It is something I have known for a while." He crossed into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "Eric, this is not a bad thing, for we will make sure that nothing bad happens to your Sookie. Just know that you have found her – your love, your mate, your other half. That is so much more than most of us ever find. Rather than panic at the notion, revel in it, min son."

I could feel my panic ratcheting down. Soon it was replaced by embarrassment, because if Godric had felt it, Sookie would have as well. Hopefully, she was peacefully asleep.

"I can feel that you are less panicked," Godric smirked. I will leave you to your rest now. He got up and walked to the door.

Before he crossed the threshold, I said, "Hey…" He turned and looked at me. "Thanks, Dad," I smirked back at him. He just rolled his eyes and went to his room. I could hear him chuckling even after he had shut his door. Finally, my day rest took me.

Friday, 3:42 p.m.

Eyes pop open. I spring out of bed and stretch while I swish the mouse and grab the remote. Before I turn my attention to the television or computer, I close my eyes and focus on my bond with Sookie. She seems to be fine, happy even. Good, very good. I turned the TV to HNN for the day's headlines: some young Hollywood heartthrob was getting backlash for a Twitter post, a star basketball player tested positive for steroids, and a study by the Department of Labor reports that women are still making substantially less for the same jobs as men. Is there ever any _new_ news? Apparently not. I started looking at my investments online.

Godric walked in and looked at the television, "anything new?"

"Not one thing… Same old news, different day."

"Anything on Jason's return?"

I shook my head, "no, but I just turned the news on." I grabbed the remote again and turned to CNN. I spared a brief thought that I hoped the world would soon normalize because I was missing my Judge Judy these days. Then in a flight of pure whimsy, I let my mind wander to the possible trials of Sophie Ann, Felipe de Castro, Andre, Bill Compton, and his freak of a maker. And in my little fantasy, Judge Judy was the presiding judge. I watched her show because she had the absolute best bullshit detector of any human I'd ever met, seen, or heard of. I almost choked as I imagined Bill Compton in her courtroom. She'd eat him up and spit him out. I remembered Sookie's reaction to my affection for Judge Judy. Did I like her? Certainly not, there was nothing really likable about her. Did I respect her? Absolutely. Also, I just found her entertaining. And a little bit educational. And again, I mentally scratched my head about the crazy hairstyles on that show.

I returned my focus to the television when they hit the top of the hour. "Late last night, or rather early this morning, Jason Stackhouse, vampire kidnap victim, returned to his home in Bon Temps, Louisiana. He managed to escape his captors in northern New Mexico. He was debriefed by the FBI and Homeland Security, and apparently, Mr. Stackhouse sustained serious, but non-life-threatening head injuries before wandering down to the southern part of the state where he ultimately presented himself at the police station in Roswell, and then he asked for aid in returning home. His family was contacted, and a charter plane flew to Roswell and brought him home. His sister, Sookie, first told of his communication from Roswell in an impromptu press conference from her front porch in Louisiana. A few hours later he was safe and in Bon Temps. Here is some coverage of his return."

I watched as they showed a little of Sookie's press conference and then Jason's return home. It seemed as if everything was working out for my little Jason returning home scenario. Godric and I looked at each other and smiled.

I decided to call my Sookie. She answered on the second ring, and I said, "hello, my Sookie. How is work today?"

When she answered I could hear the smile in her voice, "all is going very well. Jason came and joined us in the afternoon, so we were able to call all the people and businesses that had booked landscaping jobs and let them know we were still up to the tasks. Miraculously, none of them cancelled. So, all in all, business is very, very good."

"I'm so glad to hear it. I know that Jason's absence had been of some concern regarding the booked landscaping."

"Yes, but it all turned out well. In fact, there were a couple of the planned landscaping jobs who had already recommended us to their friends and associates, just based on our reputation. And maybe they also had a little bit of sympathy for our situation as well. It doesn't matter since The Enchanted Forest will make all of their landscaping dreams come true…"

"Nice commercial… I'm so glad it is all working out well, my Sookie. Is there anything you need from me?" I asked.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Hmmm… That's a loaded question, my Eric."

My, my, my… My little minx, I couldn't help but chuckle. Finally, I asked, "are the news vans still out there?"

"They took a lot of pictures this morning and when Jason came in this afternoon, but they started pulling out late this afternoon. They're almost all gone now."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" I asked. "Now, maybe your life will start to return to normal."

She laughed, "I have no idea what normal is now. Maybe I just need to find my new normal… with you."

"I like the sound of that. I need to go to Fangtasia tonight to take care of Sheriff business. I'll miss you, though."

"OK. I need to be packing up my stuff anyway. Only two days until my big move! And I don't want anything to delay it because I'm not ready. I'm actually really excited."

"As am I, my Sookie, as am I," I replied.

"Well, I guess I'd better get back to work. I love you… " she said.

"I love you, too, and I'm counting the hours until we are together under _our_ roof," I said, "good night, my Sookie."

"Good night, my Eric," she said just before she hung up.

I turned and looked at Godric, "she seems happy, and why wouldn't she be? Her brother is back home, and her business is operating at almost full capacity again. They have a lot of new customers. And, I like to think, she's happy about moving in with me on Sunday."

Godric smirked, "and don't forget that she was a girl who hadn't really dated before, but she also became recently engaged. To a very handsome and powerful vampire."

I nodded, "yes, there is that," I added solemnly. We looked at each other for a moment and then chuckled.

Godric asked, "you are going into Fangtasia tonight?"

"Yes, I have some sheriff duties to attend to. I have a number of emails regarding area business. Plus, oddly, I have the monthly reports to prepare. Even though Sophie Ann appears to be 'out-of-commission', so to speak, I will not be remiss in my scheduled reports and give The Authority reason to question, punish, or fine me as sheriff."

Godric smiled, "that is very wise, min son. If you don't mind, I'm going to head out to see the Stackhouses once it is dark."

I smirked, "yes, it really is a shame about Adele's dedication to a certain Fae prince…"

Godric chuckled, "shut up." We both chuckled after that.

Once dark came, I headed to Fangtasia, and Godric went to Bon Temps. When I got to the bar, I went into my office to review the emails that might need my attention. I had just gotten started reviewing them when I heard a knock on my door. "Enter," I commanded.

Francois came in, "Bonsoir, Eric, comment allez-vous ce soir?" (Good evening, Eric, how are you tonight?)

I nodded at him, "Je suis très bien, comme toujours, et vous?" (I am very well, as ever, and you?)

Francois smiled, "Même si je ne suis que venu ici depuis un jour, je pense que je dois vous remercier, mon ami. Cela semble déjà être le meilleur travail que j'ai jamais eu!" (Even though I have only been here for just over a day, I feel I must thank you, my friend. This already looks like it may be the best job I've ever had!)

I decided to switch to the language he would soon need to speak most of the time, "I'm glad to hear it. I hope you continue to enjoy your work for a long time. Did you need anything?"

"Not at all. I just wanted to let you know that I'm grateful for this opportunity."

"Well, thank you. I'm sorry but I have other work I must finish tonight."

"I understand. But I wanted you to know that I thank you, and I think you are a good man."

I looked at him, "I'm not a man."

Francois tilted his head to the side, "Oui, vous l'avez déjà dit, et j'ai déjà dit, vous l'êtes!" (Yes, you've said so before, and I've said before, you are!)

I smiled as he left my office. I was just settling in to answer all the sheriff emails and prepare my reports when I felt extreme anger and panic, and my phone rang. I picked it up.

"Eric, we need your help!" my Sookie said to me.

My heart sank, "what's wrong?"

"Godric and Thalia are trying to hold them off, but I don't know how long they can last."

"Who, Sookie? Who are they trying to hold off?" I asked in a voice that was a little more panicked than I would have liked.

"I think it's the water fae. They said something about hearing about all the coverage on television. Eric, these are the same fae who killed my parents. We don't know what to do! They've flooded everything. The greenhouses, where we have the plants we sell and use for landscaping. My plants for my Master's thesis. Everything. It looks like a lake extending from our porch!"

I was already moving to leave my office, and I summoned Pam, Rasul, and Francois as I moved to the back exit of the club. Sookie continued, "Eric, what do we do?"

"Has your grandmother called Fintan?"

"Of course, she called him right away."

"My love, we are on our way," was all I could say to reassure her. Both Pam and I could fly, but I knew that both Rasul and Francois could not. Pam grabbed Rasul, and I grabbed Francois, and we took to the air. I would explain the situation to them once we were in the sky.

"Eric," she continued, "there were customers here whose cars were flooded. Oh my God, this could put us out of business!"

I could feel her pain and panic through our bond. My only thought was, couldn't my beloved just have a day's peace? I thought she deserved one day free from this constant barrage of assaults.

"Eric, all our vehicles were flooded. All of them: customers', Gran's, mine, all our employees'. Everyone but not Jason's because it was left back at his house."

I recalled the pride and joy she had when she told me of purchasing her truck, and all I could think was there were going to be some seriously dead fairy fucks soon. I wanted to calm her, "Sookie, how is this water getting onto the property?"

"The fairies manifested a huge rainstorm overhead."

"Then relax yourself. The customers will not hold you accountable for what they think is a natural phenomenon, and this is what you have insurance for. All can be replaced," I tried to reassure her. "Besides, isn't water supposed to be good for plants?"

"Not this much water," she replied. "But you're right; we shouldn't lose everything; some plants will be fine with a little deluge. Most of the plants for my thesis are up on shelves; they should be ok if the water doesn't rise very much higher. Please hurry."

"We are in the sky right now. Hold on until we can get there, my love."

"Thank you, Eric." We hung up, and Pam and I sped up even faster.

I heard Rasul say, "I know this situation is serious, but this flying is awesome!"

Pam responded, "well, if I knew you'd like it this much, we'd have done it sooner. Seriously, Rasul, is that a pickle in your pocket, or are you just happy to be flying with me? Maybe if you're a really good boy… "

She was holding him squeezed to her side, and he had his arms around her. He turned his head to look at her, "then I will simply have to be very, very good, won't I?" And then he kissed her cheek. Francois chuckled at their antics. I couldn't help a few chuckles myself, especially when Pam woefully misquoted Mae West.

We began to hear the thunder when we were still about fifteen miles from the Stackhouse property. I shook my head because there was no rain, or even clouds, anywhere in sight. The night was completely clear. Fairy fuckers! "The water fae are enemies to my Sookie's sky fae. They killed Sookie's parents. You are free to take them out," I informed my vampires. Three sets of fangs snapped down, and the smiles on their faces got even bigger. "However, don't let yourself become too inebriated on their blood. That would be very dangerous for you. It might be a good idea to capture at least one of them for questioning. Also, be aware of any government agent or news reporter who may be about and completely unaware of the existence of fairies. We don't want to look like homicidal maniacs."

As we got closer to Bon Temps, we could see a huge cloud in the distance. It looked almost like the mushroom clouds from atomic bomb tests. Fairy fuckers!

"Mon Dieu," Francois exclaimed at the exact same time that Rasul muttered, "Holy Goats!"

"Indeed," I replied. "Prepare to get wet." When we got to within a mile of the Stackhouse property, we started to get pelted by big, wet drops of water. I held up my hand, and Pam and I just stayed suspended in the air with our two escorts. I turned to her, "I think we should go higher so that we can avoid detection."

She nodded at me, and together we ascended to the topmost part of the clouds. From that vantage point we could see six water fae suspended in the air near the middle of the clouds, keeping the storm roiling. I also assumed there were more fae on the ground, but we couldn't see much below the clouds. I signaled to Pam for her and Rasul to take the three on the right, and Francois and I would take the three on the left. I coordinated my attack with Francois as she did with Rasul. On my count we swooped in and surprised them one after another after another. Pam would grab one by the neck with one hand then pass him to Rasul who would finish the job, then they would move on to the next one. When the fairies died, their bodies burst into dust, so there were no bodies to hit the ground and warn the fae who were down below. The same fighting tactic was true for Francois and me. When all six were dead, the clouds started to dissipate. I could then see several of the water fae on the ground. Most of them were looking up to see why the cloud cover was abating. That was their first mistake because while they were looking up, Godric, Thalia, and several of our Were guards in and out of their wolf form attacked from the sides. Then we swooped down from the sky.

Once on the ground, Pam and I could let go of Rasul and Francois. The first thing I noticed was that the water was completely over the tops of the cars. It was about half-way up the windows of Sookie's taller truck. By this time the water fae were outnumbered, and if they failed to teleport away, they were easy prey. I managed to capture one and incapacitate him.

The water was quickly draining off the land, and I took my captive to the back greenhouse with a chain that I'd picked up from the utility shed. The chain was probably steel, but it would have a sufficient amount of iron in it to hold our captive in place. I motioned for one of The Enchanted Forest's Were employees to accompany me and keep guard over our prisoner. He grabbed an iron hoe, and when I threw the captive fairy to the ground, the Were put the working end of the hoe on his stomach and held it there. Among the chains, the Were, and the hoe, that fairy wasn't going anywhere.

By the time I got back to the front of the house, the battle was essentially over. All the remaining fae were dead, and Godric reported that it appeared that none were able to teleport away. Since fairies turn to dust upon death, there were no bodies to dispose of. I saw that both Pam and Rasul were smiling a little bit bigger than normal; OK, a whole lot bigger than normal. And they were hanging all over each other. They must have gotten at least a little fairy blood; I would need to keep an eye on them, but I couldn't begrudge them the delicacy.

I slogged up to the front porch and knocked on the door thinking how lucky it was that this house was so high off the ground. I noticed a few piles of fairy dust in various locations on the porch. The Britlingens must have been busy, too. Clovache answered the door, and I stepped just a step inside, since I was still soaking wet. She informed me that there were four customers of The Enchanted Forest who had been invited into the house to wait out the flood, and they were all seated around the dining room table with Sookie, Jason, and Adele. That was a problem we'd need to sort. Hopefully the noise of the storm had covered any ensuing battle noises. Just as I'd had that thought, Fintan materialized right next to me.

"Thank you, Viking, for protecting my family again," he said as he waved his hand over me, and suddenly all my clothes were dry.

I nodded and asked, "can you do that for everyone outside?" He nodded, and I continued, "it would also be helpful if you could do something similar for the vehicles out there. Then Godric and I can glamour the human's in there," I nodded my head toward the dining room, "and it will seem as if nothing is amiss."

He said, "of course, good idea."

"After we take care of the humans inside, you may want to accompany me as I question the one fae we captured."

"Absolutely!" he responded. He walked out to begin his side of the aftermath of 'Operation Louisiana Storm', and I walked into the dining room.

Sookie jumped up and ran into my arms, "you made it!"

"Indeed. Are you all right?" I looked around the table. There was the requisite coffeepot and cups, and it looked like there was an older couple in about their mid-sixties, and a younger couple in their early thirties. They were all four looking at me with wide eyes, and I smiled and nodded at them. They plastered nervous smiles on their faces and nodded back. Apparently they had not had a lot of exposure to vampires. They'd probably have a good time telling all their friends about meeting a vampire, so I thought I might leave that memory intact when I glamoured them.

Sookie turned to them and said, "Everybody, I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Eric Northman. Eric, this is Mr. and Mrs. Turner, and this is Chip and Carol Duplechin." They responded with varying gestures of nods, waves, and 'hi's'.

"It's very nice to meet you," I said. "Everything is getting sorted outside, and you should be able to go home shortly." I noticed that all four of them were looking at me at once, so I continued, "you've had a pleasant meeting here with the Stackhouses, and then an unexpected rain storm came up, you decided to wait it out in here, and then you'll go home in your own vehicle which was not damaged by the storm. You are looking forward to the work that The Enchanted Forest will be doing for you. Yes?" All four of them nodded to me. "Very good."

Sookie looked at me quizzically, and I whispered in her ear, "I'll explain later."

Godric came in then – completely dry, and turned to the humans, "the rain has stopped, so if you'd like to leave now, you may."

The four of them stood up and thanked the Stackhouses for their hospitality and said they were looking forward to their new landscaping. Then they all went out to their vehicles, which both started up right away, and they were gone.

Sookie asked, "how did you get their cars fixed so quickly?"

I smiled at her, "I'd love to take credit for that, but it was actually the magic of your grandfather." Just then Fintan walked in.

"Your vehicle is also repaired, Sookie," he smiled.

She hugged him, "oh thank you, Grandaddy!"

He laughed, "my pleasure. Now, I believe we have a prisoner to interrogate?"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck!**

Thank you to all who reviewed since last time, as of 7/30/17: Asami's clown, princessspot5, Casey8686, VampMad50, ljhjelm49, jackie69, Duckbutt, Guest, tleel, Perfecta999, pattyfullwood, MsNorthman, Andrea, FlowerChild23, ciasteczko, ericlover69, Nicolle1977, Suzymeinen, Bbrock525, hummingbirdgrrl.

Special thanks to FlowerChild23 who just happened to post review number 600! Woo and also Hoo!


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Night Fever

 _Last Time:_

 _Sookie asked, "how did you get their cars fixed so quickly?"_

 _I smiled at her, "I'd love to take credit for that, but it was actually the magic of your grandfather." Just then Fintan walked in._

" _Your vehicle is also repaired, Sookie," he smiled._

 _She hugged him, "oh thank you, Grandaddy!"_

 _He laughed, "my pleasure. Now, I believe we have a prisoner to interrogate?"_

Now:

I turned to Sookie and started to speak, but Jason spoke first, "could someone take me home, please?"

Sookie faced him and offered, "if Grandaddy fixed my truck, I'll give you a ride."

"NO!" I shouted unintentionally. Everyone turned and looked at me. I gathered myself, "Sookie, just because we've apparently dispatched the water fae _here_ does not necessarily mean that there aren't more lying in wait elsewhere. I think it would be best if Pam and Rasul flew to Jason's house first, and then called and had Batanya teleport him over there." I turned to look at Jason, "I know that you are anxious to be in your own home, but may I suggest that you stay here for the near future. When Batanya takes you home you can pack a bag and drive back over here with her so you'll have your truck."

I braced myself for Jason's objections, but he surprised me by replying, "that's maybe a good idea. Thanks, Eric."

Complete and total silence followed Jason's statement. No one spoke for what seemed like several minutes. Jason just looked at us and asked, "what? You don't think I can avoid being reckless? I was kidnapped less than a week ago. I ain't gonna be stupid just because I'm wanting to be in my own house."

Fintan smiled and nodded, "very good, Jason, I'm proud of your decision."

Jason blushed – it must run in the family – and thanked his grandfather. Apparently, Jason had done a lot of soul-searching in the last week while he was recuperating in Fae. What I didn't want to tell anyone right now was how much I wished Sookie were moving in with me TONIGHT. Two days seemed like an eternity until she would be safe under my roof, and I could think of any number of hazards and calamities that could befall her before then.

"Now that that is settled, let us go and question our captive," Fintan suggested gesturing toward the front door. Once on the front porch I relayed instructions to Pam and Rasul who took off into the sky toward Jason's. I shook my head and just hoped they were sober enough to accomplish their goal.

Godric joined us, and I motioned for Francois to join us as well. It was understandable and more than a little humorous that the water fae's eyes went huge when three vampires and the prince of the sky fae entered the far-back greenhouse. The Were employee was still holding the iron end of the hoe against the captive's stomach. I reached across and took the handle of the hoe and dismissed the Were. I stood to the water fae's left and Fintan stood to his right. Godric took point at his head with Francois standing at his feet. In other words, this pitiful water fae had a powerful creature at all points around him. I continued to hold the hoe to his stomach even though he had begun to try to thrash against the chains as he lay on the ground.

Godric squatted down and made one loud, popping clap of his hands just centimeters from the face of the struggling fae which made him freeze. Godric said softly, "quit struggling. Just where do you think you are going to go?"

I asked him, "what is your name?" The fae just looked at me with hatred in his eyes.

"Tannis. His name is Tannis," Fintan answered.

"You have Sookie's gift?" I asked.

He smirked, "and Jason's. Where do you think they got them from?"

I chuckled, "of course. Well, Tannis, what was the plan in coming here tonight?" When he said nothing, I just looked at Fintan.

"He's singing an old folk song in his head to try to hide the answer from me," he answered. "Would you object if I used a little of Jason's gift on him?" I shook my head. Then Fintan turned to the fae, stared at him intensely, and said quietly, "fear."

Tannis started to breathe more heavily until he was panting and gasping for breath. Then he started screaming. Fintan tilted his head and said, "calm." Tannis stopped screaming, but he was still breathing heavily and his eyes were almost pleading with Fintan.

Fintan continued, "that was without any effort behind it at all. Imagine what it would feel like if you made me really angry by not participating in our little conversational exchange here. Please answer the questions so that I don't have to really hurt you. Do you understand? Don't, as the humans say, piss me off."

Tannis looked at Fintan and asked, "why do you care what happens to these abominations?"

I pushed the flat side of the iron hoe a little harder into his stomach, "abominations? What does that mean?"

"Abominations are hybrid fae. They shouldn't exist!" Tannis said through clenched teeth. He continued, "only full-blood fae are acceptable."

Fintan said, "pain." Tannis started writhing and screaming again. Then Fintan waved his hand over Tannis to remove the pain, "be careful how you speak of my grandchildren, you cess-pool, water filth." What do you know… Fae don't play. Fintan tilted his head again, "grief and loss. All of your companions are dead."

Tears started streaming down Tannis' face, "all of them? Even Adaris?"

Godric answered, "was Adaris with the party tonight?"

Tannis nodded his head, "she's my mate. She was up in the cloud."

I answered, "then she is surely dead. All in the cloud were destroyed."

Tannis let out a wail of grief, "the abominations live? And my pure-fae wife is dead? Where is the justice?"

I reached down and ripped his tunic and then put the flat end of the iron hoe directly onto the flesh of his stomach. It sizzled like silver on a vampire. "Careful, fairy, you are calling my bonded mate an abomination."

Through his tears of grief he was panting and he said, "then she is not only an abomination, but also a vamp whore."

Francois snickered and shook his head, "he's just not very smart, is he?"

I asked, "how did you know about Sookie and Jason?"

Surprisingly he answered, "we are always monitoring the human news reports for unusual occurrences that may be attributed to hybrid fae."

Godric asked, "why?"

"Because all hybrids must be eradicated. They cannot be permitted to live."

Again Godric asked, "why?"

"Because they are impure."

Francois said, "in other words, you guys are nothing more than murdering bigots?"

"We believe in the purity of the fae race!"

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Francois shrugged. We all couldn't help but chuckle at his assessment.

I asked, "are there more of you water fae laying in wait now for Jason and Sookie?"

Tannis tried to laugh, "wouldn't you like to know?"

I looked at him, "well, yes, that would be why I asked." Stupid fucker. I looked at Fintan because his methods got results. They weren't quite as fun as physical torture, but they seemed to work, plus they were a whole lot less messy. I asked Fintan, "can Jason do all this? I mean, this easily?"

Fintan nodded at me and smiled, "oh yes. As easily as Sookie can read minds." Then he turned back to the fae and narrowed his eyes, "pain." Tannis began screaming in earnest. The screams turned blood-curdling in intensity. Fintan spoke, "still, I have not taxed myself. This is easy for me, and I can do this for days. Do you really want to suffer that long?" Again, Fintan waved a hand, which I was discovering was his way of cutting off the pain command.

"No, no, there aren't any other water fae here right now," Tannis answered between gasps when his pain allowed.

I continued, "what was the plan if none of you returned after this … mission?"

He seemed to be tiring, "I don't know. I don't think that was an option that was actually considered."

Fintan tilted his head again and asked, "where was this raid planned? Where was it launched from?"

Tannis just looked at him and, as tired as he was, just smiled. That smile was very disconcerting.

I asked, "that seems significant. What can you hear from him?"

"It's very curious," Fintan said. "It's like he knows, but there's a huge blank spot where the information should be. Like his brain _can't_ think about it."

"He's been glamoured!" Godric exclaimed. "The water fae are working with vampires." I heard an unholy, guttural growl come from Fintan, Royal Prince of the Sky Fae. The sound of it caused an uncustomary shiver up my spine.

Fuck! I had hoped with the arrests of both Sophie Ann and Felipe de Castro that all of the vampire threats toward Sookie and Jason were done. Apparently, they weren't, and now not only do we have insanely prejudiced water fae trying to kill them, but also some unknown vampire trying to… what… ?

I quickly asked, "what were your instructions regarding Jason and Sookie? Were you to kill or capture?" Tannis said nothing, so I looked over at Fintan.

"Agony," he snarled. Tannis began shaking from head to foot. His hands, even though bound together, started clawing at each other. Then he began to scream like he had not screamed all night. Soon he began convulsing, his eyes rolled back, and foam was flowing out of his mouth. We waited several minutes, but the fae showed no signs of coming out of this state.

Francois put his hand on Fintan's arm, "your highness, perhaps you should pull back." Fintan seemed frozen, staring intently at Tannis. Francois tapped his arm again, "your highness?"

And then Fintan simply unfroze, waved his hand over the fae. He turned to Francois, "I should tell you that if you touch me when I am like that, I may unintentionally do you harm. You are warned."

Francois nodded, "apologies, your highness. I understand."

I had known many fae in my life, and I had fought alongside them before in the past. I always knew they were dangerous, but I was only now understanding just how dangerous. I'd thought Fintan was normally a fairly soft-spoken, 'pretty' fae, but I was learning he was also a very, very dangerous creature. He and Godric had much in common; they both appeared and sounded pleasant and innocuous, but they were both killing machines. I was just glad that they were both on my side.

I asked, "what do we do now? What do we do with this partial information? How are we going to find out who these vampires are?"

Godric said, "I have an idea." And then he switched to Swedish, " _Har du tillgång till bilder på några vampyrer? Också bilder av platser_?" (Do you have access to pictures of some vampires? Also, pictures of places?)

I just looked at him, " _Jag antar att jag kunde lägga något ihop. Varför_?" (I guess I could put something together. Why?)

Godric continued, " _Det verkar som om han har blivit glamourerad för att inte ens kunna tänka på vampyren bakom den här eller den plats där han kanske har träffat den här vampyren. Det betyder inte att han inte kommer att känna igen dem om han ser dem. Vi sammanställer en serie bilder och övervakar vampyren och den plats han reagerar på. Jag kommer att ge dig ett förslag senare av vissa vampyrer som jag tycker borde ingå såväl som vissa platser. Fintan kommer att kunna noggrant övervaka hans reaktioner, och vi kommer att kunna notera några metaboliska skillnader_. (It appears he has been glamoured to not even be able to think of the vampire behind this, or the place where he may have met this vampire. That doesn't mean that he won't recognize them if he see them. We put together a series of pictures, and monitor the vampire and the place he reacts to. I will give you a suggestion later of certain vampires I think should be included as well as certain places. Fintan will be able to closely monitor his reactions, and we will be able to note any metabolic differences.)

I nodded and turned to Fintan, "Godric's idea is a good one, but it will take a little time to put together. Can you return tomorrow night? We will need your skills to find out who is behind this attack."

Fintan nodded, "of course. I will be glad to help."

"Very good," I said. "Godric, do you think you can take our little psychotic friend to where he needs to go for tonight?" 

Godric smirked, "with pleasure." He picked up the now unconscious fae, threw him over his shoulder, walked outside, and took to the air.

"Let us go inside and check on Sookie and Adele," I said to Fintan and Francois. When we got to the front door, I raised my hand to knock, but Fintan just opened it like he lived there. The three of us joined Sookie and Adele in the living room. Clovache was standing at the front window. Sookie stood up and came to me, and we embraced. Fintan joined Adele on the sofa.

"Adele, I'd like for you to meet my friend Francois. Francois, this is Sookie's grandmother Adele Stackhouse."

Francois crossed to her and kissed the back of her hand, "enchante, Madame. I am so pleased to meet you. I can see where Sookie gets her beauty."

Adele chuckled, "well, aren't you the charmer." She thought for a moment, "you're the friend who was with Eric and Godric on that first Bastille Day, right?"

Francois looked surprised then smiled, "C'est vrai… That is true. I am surprised you know this."

I told him, "we were talking about Bastille Day just last night, and I mentioned you were with us." Francois just nodded.

"My love," I said to Sookie, "I must go and prepare for the final interrogation of the water fae, and Francois needs to go to work at Fangtasia."

She hugged me again and said, "I am counting the hours until Sunday night."

I chuckled, "and I am counting the minutes." I gave her a chaste kiss, and then Francois and I made our way back to Shreveport.

We landed in an alley about a block from Fangtasia and walked to the back of the club. Francois excused himself to go change for work, and I sat back down behind my computer. I started searching my files and the Internet for all the pictures of known vampires I could find. I had a feeling that Godric and I were thinking of the same vampires who could possibly be behind the attack by the water fae. I then started looking for photos of specific places, many of them directly associated with the suspicious vampires. Once I had all of my photos collected, I started putting together a Powerpoint slide show which I amused myself with naming, 'So You Think You Can Glamour'. I even made a title slide.

As I put together the Powerpoint program, I couldn't help but wonder which of these vampires was already, unknowingly, living under a true death sentence. Because I would surely deliver the true death to the guilty party. This wasn't something we could simply report to the authorities since the attack was committed by fairies.

Finally, Godric returned from depositing our fae to where he would be secure overnight. I showed him the picture show I'd put together. He approved of it, and he suggested a few more vampire names and locations to add. I had to admit that some of his suggestions were names I would have never thought of. I searched and found pictures of the vampires Godric suggested, and I added them at strategic parts of the Powerpoint slide show, along with pictures from locations related to them. Tomorrow night should prove quite interesting.

I then took care of sheriff business, including the requisite reports, and I sent them up the chain of command. No one could accuse me of shirking my responsibilities. If I had my way, soon none of this would be something I had to deal with. With the vampire monarch system possibly on its way out, there might come a time when sheriffs didn't exist either.

Since all my paperwork was done, I grabbed a few files, and I walked into the bar area of Fangtasia to see how the club was doing. I still had three appointments with vampires later. I saw Francois sitting up on the stage. He was wearing dark jeans and a black satin shirt unbuttoned almost to his waist. He looked perfect. He saw me and nodded. There were swarms of women staring at him. "Very good,' I thought. All was as it should be.

I started to head to my booth, when I noticed FBI and Homeland Security sitting at the bar. What the hell did they want now? I walked over to them, "gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this evening?"

FBI smiled, "relax Mr. Northman. We aren't here to investigate anything."

"Then why are you here?"

Homeland Security answered with a shrug, "curiosity. When we were here before, we were in and out without actually seeing what goes on at a club like this."

FBI added, "we thought it might be educational to see vampires… in their natural habitat, so to speak." He chuckled.

"Ah," I responded then thought something over. "You wanted to know about sheriffs. I have three appointments relating to my sheriff's duties starting in about twenty minutes. I invite you to observe."

The surprised expressions on both of their faces were almost humorous. Then they looked at each other and nodded. I knew that these appointments were fairly straightforward – requests to move into the area and a request to start a new business. "Gentlemen, if you would like to join me in my booth?"

They both got up with their tonic waters and walked with me to get settled in my booth. I asked, "are you both on duty right now, or can I buy you a real drink?" I smiled, ever the good host.

FBI looked at Homeland Security and smiled, "I think that officially we are off-duty."

I summoned a waitress, I think her name was Belinda, "these gentlemen would like a drink on me."

"Yes, master. What can I get for you?" she smiled.

FBI hesitated and then said, "I'll have a Lite beer."

Homeland Security ordered, "bourbon and water, neat." Belinda went to fetch their drinks and Homeland Security asked, "master?"

I smiled, "it's all part of the show," I said as I twirled my hand to indicate the club. "And to be honest, it's vampire tradition that the head vampire in the building is addressed as 'master'. I assure you that it has nothing to do with ownership or slavery of humans." They both nodded. I continued, "gentlemen, whereas humans are free to move from place to place in America, vampires must always check in with the local sheriff before moving to a new area. That might seem unfair, but there are very sound reasons for this protocol. Many vampires were born in different eras, and while it is incumbent upon anyone to adapt to the current times, some vampires have trouble doing so. Consequently, we have rules and regulations. Each sheriff makes his own rules, but the intention is to keep the peace and exert some control over vampires who may have tendencies toward lawlessness."

FBI asked, "has it always been this way?" Belinda was placing their drinks in front of them.

I nodded, "there have been some constraints in place for centuries. Things have eased up a little since the great reveal, but you have to understand that vampires have been nomadic by nature out of necessity. I have several homes all over the United States and Europe. In the past, I could only stay in one home for a certain length of time before humans in the area might notice that I wasn't aging. Eventually I would be able to circle back to that home and start the whole process over. The longest I've ever lived anywhere is here in Shreveport. I plan to stay as long as I can with my Sookie." I smiled, "however, if a vampire wants to start a new business in my area, I need to know how committed they are to the prospect, how much planning they've put into it, and what their basic chances for success are. It would become disastrous for all vampires if we were to get reputations for simply abandoning things when they didn't work out. I'm only telling you all of this so that you will understand the reasoning and context for the meetings I have tonight."

Maxwell Lee approached the booth, and I nodded to him. "Sir, sorry to disturb, but you have an appointment waiting to see you," he said glancing at the government agents.

"It's alright, Maxwell, I've invited these gentlemen to observe sheriff duties in action. Gentlemen, this is Maxwell Lee, he is a very honorable vampire. Normally, Pamela would be acting as my second, but she is out with Rasul tonight. I am ready for them, Maxwell, you may show them over." He nodded and departed to collect the vampires in question.

Maxwell returned followed by two vampires, a man and a woman. They both bowed to show their respect. I read their paperwork and asked them, "You are Adam Clayborne and … Eleanor Rigby? Really? You took your name from a Beatles song?"

She smiled and lowered her head, "well, my actual last name was Rigby, sir, and when that song came out, I thought why not?"

I shook my head and chuckled, "I've heard of lesser reasons for choosing a name. You two are moving here from Area 4 in Missouri? The St. Louis area?"

Adam Clayborne nodded his head, "yes, sir."

"Why are you moving here, and what is your profession or plan to sustain yourself?"

"I just finished my accounting degree from the online program with the University of Phoenix. I'm due to sit for the Louisiana CPA exam in about a week. If I pass, I have an offer to start with the accounting firm of Dorsett and Dupree. They are expanding to have a night staff. They are also hoping to attract vampire businesses."

I nodded, "very good. Make sure you pass." I turned to Eleanor Rigby, "and you?"

"Most of my work experience is in retail. I'm hoping to get a job in a shop somewhere."

"What funds are you going to live on in the mean time?"

"We have enough saved to live on for at least six months."

"Good. Do you have a place to live?"

"Not yet. We are staying at a hotel not far from here until you approved our residency," Adam said.

I looked at them for a moment. They couldn't be very old because their faces looked so hopeful. "I hereby grant you tentative approval to move to this area. Permanent approval is contingent upon a positive report of your activities from Sheriff Sanders of St. Louis. Here is a file of information you may find helpful." I opened the file, "This is a list of vampire-friendly apartment projects, and realtors who can help you find a house to rent or buy with light-tight facilities. This is a map of Caddo Parish to help you find your way around, this is a list of vampire owned businesses which can serve two purposes. First, the list should help you find a retail job, Ms. Rigby. Second, we ask vampires to support other vampires in their business dealings and shopping. Finally, this is a list of the rules and regulations for my area. Make sure you read this over very, very carefully. My rules may be different to the rules you are accustomed to, but ignorance of the rules is no excuse for breaking them. Am I clear?"

They both smiled, "of course, Sheriff. Thank you so much. We appreciate the chance."

I smiled, "welcome to area 5 of Louisiana. You may get a complimentary True Blood at the bar. And… good luck." They walked away to the bar.

"Wow, that was interesting," FBI stated. "What happens if they didn't have a job or money?" Both agents looked at me.

"That depends on several factors. Such as, have they caused trouble in the areas they've lived in the past? How old are they? Young ones often have not yet lived long enough to amass fortunes. A poor, unemployed vampire can be a recipe for trouble. If they seem to have some kind of promise, I will offer to help them find employment, and their acceptance into the area will then depend on how they perform at that job."

Homeland Security asked, "what happens if they break your rules?"

This was a tricky question, "you may not like this answer, but it depends of the infraction. Some rules have fines – much like a traffic violation would, others have more … corporal punishments including, in some cases, confinement of some sort. Please remember, that any injuries made to a vampire, heal very quickly."

FBI added, "I'm not sure that's legal."

I looked at him, "I'm pretty sure that according to human laws it's not legal. But you have to be realistic and remember one very important fact: vampires are not human. They do not respond to laws the same way as humans. Just as humans obey their laws due to the penalties and threats of the human legal system, the threats of punishment to vampires must instill the same need for obedience."

Homeland Security pressed, "so you've performed this … corporal … punishment on vampires before?"

I smiled at him, "I'll plead the fifth on that one, if you don't mind." I thought for a moment, "I'll just say that I make sure my area is peaceful, and that there are no rogue vampires without control who are flagrantly violating human laws."

"And yet you've all but admitted that you have broken the law in the disciplining of unruly vampires?" Homeland Security stated.

"Think of it this way, Mr. Pettigrew. You are alone trying to apprehend a vampire who does not want to be apprehended. What are you going to do?" Homeland Security started to speak, but I held up my hand, "before you answer that, now two more vampires have joined the one you were trying to arrest. They are not all neatly in front of you, but rather they are on all sides of you. And let me add that by the time you shoot one of them, the other two will be on top of you… draining you. NOW, what are you going to do?"

Homeland Security sighs, "I get that I can't take them down, but what's your point?"

"Sometimes in order to make sure that scenarios exactly like that don't happen, vampire authority figures have to maintain an adequate … threat level that will deter lawless vampires." Homeland Security smiled.

FBI said, "while I don't exactly agree with all that, I understand the necessity." Homeland Security nodded.

Maxwell Lee arrived at the table again, "Sheriff, your next appointment is here." I nodded to him.

"This vampire has asked permission to start a new business."

"Vampires have to have your permission to do that?" FBI asked.

"Yes, they do. But not for the reasons you may be thinking. Watch and you'll see."

A vampire who had been turned when he was in his late thirties/early forties approached the table. He bowed, "Sheriff."

"Andy Bachman, you are wishing to start a new business, yes?"

"Yes, sheriff. I wish to open a motorcycle sales and repair shop just west of Shreveport. In my prospectus, I've laid out the location, the rent, my current inventory of tools and parts, I've even laid out who the current competition is for this type of business. I've been repairing motorcycles for friends for a while now, and I recently got my certification as a mechanic for motorcycles, atv's and utv's."

"Very good. Who is your parts supplier?"

"I don't have one yet. There are several I could use… "

"Yes, but here is a list of suppliers I think you can trust. I got this information from Tray Dawson who has a motorcycle repair shop in Minden. In fact, here is contact information for Mr. Dawson; he is a personal friend of mine, and I think your location will be far enough away from his that he would be willing to help you. Do you have the financing in place for all this?"

"I have saved enough for a start, but I estimate I need another fifty thousand dollars to assure success. I know that sounds like a lot, but I'm hoping to secure financing through a business loan."

"I see." I looked at the paperwork again. "This is a very thorough and well-thought out prospectus. I'm going to also give you the name of a banker I work with at United Capital Bank. He is a vampire as well. Give him my card and tell him to call me if he needs more information. Before you go see him, get the information from Dawson so that your prospectus is complete."

He smiled, "thank you, Sheriff. I have a feeling this is going to be a great success."

"Work hard, and it will be. Take care."

"Thank you for all your help." And he left.

"You help them?" Homeland Security asked.

"Only if they are prepared and have put in the work necessary to make a business a success. I have a lot of connections all over northern Louisiana and elsewhere. I think this motorcycle shop is a good idea for Andy. He just needed a little leg up, pardon the pun. However, if he hadn't prepared as hard as he did, I would have told him to come back when he had more of his ducks in a row. I don't do this out of cruelty or a need for dominance. I do this so that when they begin a business, they have a better chance to succeed."

"So the role of sheriff isn't just about law enforcement," FBI observed.

"No, it's not. It's about the well-being of vampires in my area as well. Actually, the monarchies are theoretically supposed to do the same, but more often than not, when you give someone the title of king or queen, they begin to feel entitled, and they become very selfish. Don't get me wrong, there are some good monarchs out there, but lately good monarchs are the exception rather than the rule."

I looked up and could see Maxwell Lee heading toward me. "Now comes the interesting part of my evening," I smirked as I informed the agents. Before long there were three vampires standing at the end of my booth. All three of them just looked like bad news – from the insolent ways they were standing to their tacky wardrobe that made them look like they had just stepped out of a skeezy 70's disco. That was why Pam had dubbed them the Disco Triplets. None of them bowed as the others had.

Malcolm was the first to speak, "Eric… " I raised my eyebrow to him, and he had the audacity to roll his eyes, " _Sheriff_ , here we are… again."

"Yes, I can see that. Why are you here?"

"We want to move back to the area. One year and a day ago, you kicked us out of the area for a year. Well, year's up."

"Where's Janella?" I asked.

"Who?" Malcolm asked. Liam and Diane exchanged a look.

"You know, Janella, the human you had with you this time last year."

Malcolm's eyes cut to the two agents, "who're they?"

"Government agents from the FBI and Homeland Security. Why do you care?" I smirked. "Again, where is Janella?"

Liam spoke for the first time, "she decided she didn't want to be with us anymore, so we cut her loose."

"Where?" I asked for the third time.

Diane chimed in, "she left us in Texas. We stayed there for a few months."

I snickered and shook my head, "Malcolm, Diane, Liam, I am unaccustomed to having to repeat myself as much as I have with you three tonight. I will ask you one more time, and I better get an answer I like. Where. Is. Janella?"

Diane answered, "she had family or something in Mesquite, just outside of Dallas. She decided to go to them."

"When was this?"

Liam said, "about six months ago."

I typed a message on my phone. "Is there a number where I can reach her?"

Malcolm snorted, "we haven't exactly stayed in touch."

Godric walked in at that time and slid into the booth. "Godric, Malcolm and his friends were in Mesquite six months ago. Did they present themselves to you for residency?"

Godric turned and looked at them, "they did not."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," I uttered, channeling Nan Flanagan. "You three have been very bad vampires. However, I will overlook your breach in protocol in Texas, and you can move to my area… " The three of them started to look happy until, I finished my sentence, "… as soon as Janella stands here before me to assure me that she is safe somewhere else."

Malcolm protested, "you can't do this!"

"I believe I just did. It's really simple. Get in touch with Janella, and ask her to present herself to me, and then you can move into my area."

"I own a house in Ruston. I want to live there," Malcolm insisted.

"Then present Janella to me." I smiled at them.

"You cock-sucker!" he screamed. He calmed himself down and looked at Diane and Liam, "it's OK, it's OK, it's OK," he started to laugh. "Word has it that all those in power are going down. I can't wait until I can spit in your face!"

"You think that my position is all that is preventing you from some sort of revenge? If, as you say, I go down, then bring it on, Malcolm," I narrowed my eyes at him. "Maxwell Lee… " I summoned softly. In a moment Maxwell was standing in front of me. "Maxwell, pick four assistants and accompany these vermin across the Arkansas border. Malcolm, Diane, Liam, you will never be welcome in this area until Janella is accounted for to my satisfaction. Am I understood?"

All three of them dropped fangs and snarled. Malcolm added, "we're being kept away because of some slut of a human?!" Maxwell and a couple of assistants standing by grabbed them by the arms and hauled them out of the bar.

Closing time of the bar had occurred about the same time that the Disco Triplets had presented themselves, so none of the patrons had witnessed this unpleasant scene. Once they were gone, I rubbed my eyes as if that gesture could erase the calamity of this ridiculous situation.

"Wow, just wow," FBI exclaimed.

Godric said, "these are exactly the type of vampires I expressed concern about when we were talking about the possible elimination of the sheriff positions."

Homeland Security added, "this Janella is long dead, isn't she?"

I nodded, "unfortunately I think that is the case. She looked dreadful the last time I saw her; she was an average height woman who weighed about eighty or ninety pounds – humans who consort with vampires often forget to eat. I even sent Pamela to talk to her about getting away from this unholy trio, thinking she may be more comfortable with a woman. However, according to Pam, she protested undying love for Liam. There is nothing I can report to the human authorities, but these three are even rough on vampires, let alone humans who have the misfortune to consort with them."

"If you knew this Janella was dead, why did you make such a production of demanding to see her?" FBI asked.

"Because, I don't want these psychos in my area. Rules are just ridiculous encumbrances to them. I'm quite sure that Janella is far from their first victim. I don't know why, but they keep circling this area. I know that Malcolm owns a house in the area, but there is something else that keeps drawing them back, and I just want them gone. They give all vampires a bad name. If I had evidence that would help convict them of crimes against humans, I would happily turn it over to you."

Homeland Security said, "well Mr. Northman, sorry, Sheriff Northman," he chuckled, "this has been most illuminating." I didn't quite know what that meant, but I had been very forthcoming with these agents. I only hoped that my forthrightness didn't come back to bite me on the ass.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck!**

Thank you so, so much to all who reviewed since the last posting as of 8/5/17: Asami's clown, Flower Child 23, ljhjelm49, Casey8686, Suzymeinen, Jazzma18, ericlover69, tleel, preincessspot5, Jfozz, Nicolle1977, pattyfullwood, fanfictionfan4444, The Vikings Succubus, Duckbutt, Bruja1775, jackie69, VampMad50, MsNorthman, ciasteczko, Perfecta999, Ericsbickerchick.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – Royal Engagements

 **AN: Before you read this chapter, you need to go to youtube and listen to 'Aquarium' by Camille Saint-Saëns (the best version was posted by 'smalin' Oct. 29, 2011 – it has a green background with geometric figures on it, performed by the Seattle Youth Symphony). It's a relatively short piece, and it plays a meaningful part later in this chapter. You won't be sorry! Also, a warning for scenes of mental torture ahead… but much, much later…**

 _Last time:_

 _Homeland Security said, "well Mr. Northman, sorry, Sheriff Northman," he chuckled, "this has been most illuminating." I didn't quite know what that meant, but I had been very forthcoming with these agents. I only hoped that my forthrightness didn't come back to bite me on the ass._

Now:

I looked at the two government agents and asked, "I've been trying to help you understand the vampire world a little better, and I've been very honest with you. Am I going to regret showing you all this? Am I going to regret trusting you?"

Homeland Security chuckled, "you have nothing to fear from me; I really appreciate the insight. If anyone understands the deterrent of an adequate threat level, it's me." Yes, I could appreciate that about him.

FBI nodded, "I don't plan on pursuing anything. But I have one question."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "yes, Agent Langford?"

"You said you planned to stay in Shreveport with Sookie as long as you could. What happens when she starts to age?"

This question I understood, "well, there are a few options. I'm hoping I can talk her into becoming a vampire before that happens; I love her enough to be with her forever. If not, she will still be beautiful to me when she gets older. As I've tried to explain to her, vampires have a totally different perspective on human age." I thought for a second, "take Godric for example… "

"Eric… " Godric said in warning.

"He looks like a teenager, right?" They nodded. "And yet he totally has a thing for… "

"Eric…" Godric tried again.

But I owed him for his jibes to Sookie at my expense early on, "he totally has a thing for Adele." He tilted his head at me, and I chuckled.

FBI asked, "Adele Stackhouse? The grandmother?"

Homeland Security added, "but she's … old…"

I laughed out loud, "compared to Godric, she's a babe. As in young. But I agree with him in that she is totally hot."

Both agents looked at Godric and asked at exactly the same time, "really?"

Godric face-planted into his palms, "yes." He looked up at them, "she's funny, and charming, and smart, and yes, totally hot." Godric just looked at me and finally just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Both agents started to chuckle at our antics.

"Can I buy you gentlemen another round?" I asked.

FBI looked very serious, "but you are closed; wouldn't that be a violation of the law…" And we all laughed.

Homeland Security said, "I could use another drink." FBI nodded, and I signaled for another round. Belinda brought their drinks and Royalty Blended for Godric and me.

Homeland Security raised his glass, "to the woman who told me, in no uncertain terms, where I could get off the friggin' bus…"

FBI finished, "Adele Stackhouse!" We all raised our glasses and toasted and chuckled while we drank to Adele.

A moment later Francois, freshly changed from his throne duty, was standing at the end of the booth. I signaled for a drink – Royalty Blended – for him. He asked, "what is happening here?"

FBI answered, "we're drinking to Adele Stackhouse."

Francois said, "the grandmother? Mon Dieu, she's hot." We all cracked up, and I raised my arms in a "now do you get it?" gesture.

Francois sidled into the booth next to Godric. I felt introductions were in order, "gentlemen, this is my good friend Francois. He is an old friend but a new employee here at Fangtasia." The parties in question all nodded at each other.

I wondered aloud, "I'm wondering if there is another group of men anywhere on the surface of this planet who are sitting around extolling the virtues of an octogenarian?" Francois looked at me in question, and I explained, "a woman in her eighties." He nodded and smiled.

FBI asked in disbelief, "Adele Stackhouse is in her eighties?"

I nodded, "oh yes."

Homeland Security added, "well crap, she _is_ hot!" We all laughed at that; who knew that Homeland Security had a sense of humor? I laughed internally as well because this was beginning to feel very like the Barbary Coast in the good old pirate days. Except without the whores, and the ribald jesting, and the overall lack of hygiene. And these guys were a whole lot less drunk. Come to think of it, it was really nothing like those times; I don't know why I even had the thought. I shook my head.

"Well, Sheriff Northman," Homeland Security began as he was standing. "I thank you for your hospitality, the drinks, and the education."

FBI slid out of the booth as well, "yes, thank you Mr. Northman. I feel like I've really had my eyes opened tonight. But we lowly government employees have to work tomorrow, so we'll take our leave."

"Good evening, gentlemen. Be safe driving home… or wherever you go," I smiled, remembering that neither of them lived in this area.

FBI grinned, "Good evening, vampires." He nodded his head to us, and the two agents walked outside.

Godric looked at me, "that was interesting."

"Indeed," I agreed.

Godric continued, "I looked over your powerpoint to show our friend tomorrow night. I hope you don't mind, but I tweaked it a little." I shrugged; it didn't matter to me as long as we got the information we needed.

A moment later FBI walked back into the bar. "Do you guys have a flashlight?"

"I'm sure we have one somewhere, what's wrong?" I asked.

"I dropped the keys, and they are way under the car somewhere. We can't see them in the dark, and I'm hoping a flashlight will help."

Godric and I looked at each other and smiled. I got up to walk to the door, "you don't need a flashlight. I'll help you." I walked outside with FBI to find Homeland Security leaning against the car. "You dropped them under the car? I knelt down to look under, but I didn't see the keys. I looked at the agents, "could you guys stand over there?" I said as I indicated the space over by the door. When they were out of the way, I simply picked up the car and moved it to the parking space two down from where they were currently parked. And the keys were right there in the middle of the now empty parking space. I picked them up to hand them back, but both agents were staring at me with their mouths wide open. I held the keys out to them.

"Shit!" Homeland Security said.

FBI nodded, "I knew vampires were strong but…"

"Shit!" Homeland Security repeated.

I was still holding the keys out to them, when I shrugged, "this was easier than finding the flashlight."

Finally FBI let out a kind of girly giggle, gathered himself, then reached out and took the keys from me. "Thank you again, Mr. Northman."

Both agents crossed to their doors of the car. FBI unlocked the doors and climbed in. Homeland Security was on the far side of the car just standing there staring at me. He shook his head, and muttered, "shit!" as he finally climbed in. I stood and watched as they pulled away.

I turned around to go back inside when I saw Godric standing just outside the door, shaking his head and chuckling. "what? Now they have a better idea of what they're dealing with," I shrugged.

After that we left the bar and returned to the house we were using. Godric and I talked for a while, then went our separate ways for our day rest.

 **Saturday, 4:18 p.m.**

Eyes pop open, roll out of bed, stretch… grab the remote, swish the mouse… start my night…

The first thing on the television was a Harry Potter movie. I was trying to figure out where in the long, long sequence of Harry Potter movies this one fit. Hermione had just gotten that blush of puberty and Ron's voice had dropped; must be the third one about the godfather who escaped from Azkaban. Good, that was my favorite one anyway, so I left the TV there. It was the only one of all the Harry Potter movies that let teenagers just be teenagers, in all their complicated, messy glory.

I was going to look at my investments online when my phone rang, "Northman."

"Stackhouse," came from the other end. I would never tire of hearing her voice on the other end of the phone line, and my usual involuntary smile spread across my face.

"How are you this afternoon, my Sookie?"

"I'm very well. We're getting back into The Enchanted Forest groove now that both Jason and I are back."

"How did you know I was up yet?"

She laughed, "I always know when you rise for the day. Your rising is one of my favorite parts of my day."

"How? Why?" I asked.

"The answer to both is the same. When you wake for the day, I get this tingly, shiver feeling. It's really great! I love it, although it sometimes catches me off-guard, especially if I'm with customers. I've had to make up any number of strange excuses for what must seem strange behavior to them."

It was my turn to laugh. "I'm glad business is getting back to normal."

"Oh, it's way past normal because we have so many more customers and landscaping projects, but I'm happy, at this point, to find a new normal," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"How did your plants weather the flood?"

"We lost a few, but a whole lot fewer than I had feared. We spent most of the morning sorting all of that out. Anything interesting happening in your world?"

I told her about the visit from the government agents the night before and all that had transpired. She was laughing her ass off at their reaction to my simply moving their car to get at their car keys. "Well, I honestly didn't have any idea where a flashlight was." For some reason that statement made her crack up all over again.

"That's one of my favorite things about you, Eric," she said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"You're so funny. You make me laugh, and I have real fun with you," she answered.

I chuckled softly, "I have had the exact same thoughts about you, my love." I thought for a second, "actually, laughter is not my default state; that's just happened since I've known you. Before, I hardly ever laughed. Now I see the joy and humor in most things… and wonder how I missed it all in the past."

"A+ for sweet talk… again," she sighed.

Wow, I wasn't even trying. "Oh good. Got to keep up my academic standing." Only one more day, and this beauty would be under my roof, "how much packing do you have left to do?"

"I didn't have as much packing as I thought. I packed my books, music, and general stuff last night. Tonight I just have to pack my clothes, makeup, and toiletries, and I'm done! I have tonight and all day tomorrow to accomplish that. Plus, anything I don't have packed by tomorrow night I can always just pick up anytime I come to work."

"It sounds like you have it all under control."

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Fairy interrogation, part 2. We hope to find out who put the water fae up to attacking last night."

There was a longish silence. "I didn't realize there were outside influences on the attack. Do you have any clues?"

I knew this would upset her, "it seems… "

She waited a moment, "it seems what?"

I let out a sigh, "it seems that a vampire was behind the attack. The fairy we captured had been glamoured not to remember the details of the planning or launching of the attack."

Another pause, "son of a bitch!" I knew this upset her because my Sookie doesn't swear.

"Don't worry, my Sookie, we think we've figured out a way to get around the glamour. That's why we're interrogating him again," I added to try to comfort her.

"Will you need my help, you know, with the telepathy?" she asked.

"No, we will not. Your grandfather has that covered."

"Oh, I didn't know he was coming back tonight."

"He very much wants to be a part of this interrogation. In fact, he used Jason's gift in combination with yours to get most of the information that we got last night. He's a very effective interrogator," I told her.

"Oh wow… I've never thought of my sweet granddaddy in quite that way before," she chuckled.

I chuckled as well and added, "let me tell you that it occurred to me that I was very, very glad that we were on the same side. He's very powerful, and more than a little frightening."

"Well you'll have to forgive me if I think of him as the giver of loving hugs and kisses," she replied.

I couldn't help but smile, "as you should."

"Although… " she started.

"Although what?" I asked.

"He took care of my Uncle Bartlett for me," she whispered. "Once I told him what he was doing, anyway."

I remembered there being a wheelchair-bound uncle from one of the first reports that Raphael had provided me. Why did he have to be 'taken care of'? "Sookie, what did your Uncle do?"

"It wasn't so bad for me, but I think it was probably pretty bad for my cousin Hadley and maybe even her mother. He… wasn't a very nice man, Eric. He wanted to do things to me. I could hear the things he wanted to do in his head, so I would do everything I could think of to avoid him. I was mostly successful, but there were a few times… Poor Hadley didn't have that defense. But when I told Grandaddy about it, he tried to remain calm, but I could tell he was really, really mad, even as young as I was."

"How old were you?" I dreaded the answer.

"About five years old when it started. I didn't understand it, so I didn't say anything to anyone for a long time. I just knew something felt very, very wrong."

That was when I realized I had been holding my stapler… the one now crumbled, smashed, and in pieces in my hand. I tried to keep my voice even as I asked, "how old were you when you finally told your grandfather?"

"I had just turned seven," she said followed by a long silence. "Eric? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I am here." There was another long silence.

"Eric, are you mad at me? I swear I didn't understand things like that at the time. I wish I had told Grandaddy sooner. I wish I could have helped Hadley, but I was just a little girl," she sniffed. "Oh, God, Eric, does this change everything for us?"

How could she even think that? "Gods, Sookie, of course not. I'm angry, but not at you. No, that's not right… I'm enraged is more accurate. Fintan let this man live?"

"Well, yeah… He's Gran's brother. He couldn't very well kill him, even though he may have wanted to. But I think he scrambled his brain pretty well." I felt no such constraints toward Adele's brother. There must have been another pause that occurred during the time I was mentally planning multiple heinous death scenarios for this pedophile. "Eric, talk to me, you're scaring me."

I let out a sigh, "I'm so sorry, my Sookie. I would never want to scare you. This hasn't changed the fact that you are the most precious thing in the world to me."

I could hear her sigh of relief, "thank you, Eric. Now I don't want you to go and kill Uncle Bartlett either." I couldn't stop the growl that escaped. "Eric, he's a crippled old man, in a wheelchair. We just leave him alone. You need to as well."

She wouldn't … couldn't understand the absolute need I had to tear this human apart. This was the basic vampire nature that she was as yet unaware of. Sookie was MINE, and this excrement had harmed her. He must die. Slowly and painfully.

"Eric, what are you thinking?" she asked.

I had promised her once that I would never lie to her. "I've been thinking that I wish you were already living with me. My imagination seems to know no bounds when I think of all the ways you could be hurt. I will feel so much better when you are safe under my roof." There that wasn't a lie.

"Uh huh, skillful subject change. But I meant it; I don't want you killing anyone for me. I don't want anyone's death on my conscience." I didn't have anything to say to that, so I said nothing. "Well, I've told you how I feel, and I have to believe you will respect those feelings, so I'll let it go for now."

"I think Godric will be at your grandmother's house right after dark. He can accompany your grandfather to the interrogation site. Don't worry, my Sookie, we will get to the bottom of this."

"I know you will. I guess I better get back to work. I love you, my Eric," she whispered.

"I love and adore you, my Sookie, never doubt that." And we hung up.

Ethical quandary: how do I kill a man my beloved has specifically requested that I not kill? What to do, what to do, what to do? I would never want to do anything to lose her trust, but she couldn't possibly understand the vampire imperative I'm feeling. I would just have to discuss this with Fintan later tonight. Right now I needed to get my head into the interrogation game and plan accordingly.

Godric wandered in to my room, "all is well, Eric? I felt such rage from you a while ago."

"Yeah, well I was feeling a lot of rage, too." He looked at me inquisitively. "Sookie was telling me about a pedophile uncle of hers," I said starting to breathe heavily.

His eyebrow raised, "does this monster yet live?"

"He does. However, apparently Fintan scrambled his brain at one point."

"Why did Fintan not end him?" Godric asked.

"This uncle is Adele's brother."

"Ah," Godric nodded.

"Anyway, according to Sookie, he is a crippled old man, wheelchair-bound." I paused, "master, Sookie told me not to kill him, that she didn't want any deaths on her conscience. But … "

"But… everything in you is screaming to end this fool. Right?" Godric asked. I nodded. Godric continued, "how much do you honor the wishes of your Sookie?"

"More than anything. But, I feel as if my skin is, I don't know, itching. I need to destroy this man."

Godric thought for a moment. "This is the universe testing their gift of your love, min son. Sookie has made a difficult request of you. She does not mean for it to be as difficult as it is, for she does not understand the drives within you. However, the choice is yours. If you truly love her, as I suspect you do, you will overcome the urge to kill this man. It will not be easy, and you may suffer, but if you love her, you will respect her wishes."

I thought over Godric's words, "I don't suppose I could tell you about this guy and let you torture, eviscerate, and annihilate this asshole?"

He chuckled. "And that would be different from you actually doing the deed… how?" Godric asked. "Plus, if this man suddenly dies in the near future, how would you convince Sookie that it wasn't you?" I nodded. "Calm yourself, Eric. You are about to take part in an interrogation. You must be calm."

"You are right. I think I will go through my tai chi moves. They usually calm me," I answered.

"Very good. I'll leave you to it, min son." He walked out of the room, and I started my tai chi moves. It wasn't until the third or fourth time through that I began to feel more calm, more centered. I continued to breathe deeply through the moves which only helped to calm me more. I knew that Godric was right; the universe was testing me, and I was determined to be worthy of my Sookie. She had somehow made peace with what had happened with her uncle, and I would have to do the same. It didn't matter that my vampiric nature was screaming for action against this man. I had to be better than that; I had to be better than myself.

When I was sufficiently calm, I sat back down to review my investment portfolio as I had started to do before Sookie called. I made a few notes of shifts I wanted to make and sent an email to my broker. I read through my emails next. I had one acknowledging receipt of the sheriff's reports I'd sent the night before. I spared a moment to wonder who had received them and sent that notice, then shrugged that off. I could discern nothing worrying about it, and I was sure I would find out in time. I also had an email from Mayor Gaylord inviting me to an upcoming meeting about the real estate development project he'd mentioned to me at the ball. I responded to him that I would be at the meeting and made a note on my calendar. The mundane nature of these activities further calmed me.

I had not really been paying attention to the television, so I changed from the Harry Potter movie I wasn't watching to CNN for the news. I rather hoped that there would be nothing about the Stackhouses; I wanted them to be able to resume their normal lives. Once we got the necessary information from this water fae tonight, I hoped to ensure their lives continued undisturbed.

I watched the news for a while, and I was satisfied that there was nothing of note about my little world to report. I picked up the remote to change the channel again, when a news story caught my attention for a completely different reason. Apparently, a vampire and human in Indiana had pursued a 'right to wed' case all the way to the Supreme Court. The court had heard the arguments a few weeks back and were set to announce their findings within the next few days. I felt something enormous in my chest: hope. Somehow this legal case had flown completely under my radar, but if the court ruled in their favor, it would change everything for all vampires across the country. It would mean that my Sookie and I could get married! Now I was losing my calm for an entirely different reason.

And just as I expected, Godric was at my door again. He leaned against the doorjamb, tilted his head to the side, and quirked an eyebrow. I had to laugh, "on the news. There's a case that has gone all the way to the Supreme Court regarding the right of a vampire to marry a human."

"Ah," he said. "It is so odd Eric. For centuries, you have maintained very, shall we say… neutral feelings. Very disciplined, neutral feelings. Since you have met your Sookie, your internal emotional state is as volatile and changeable as a tornado."

He was absolutely right. "Are you concerned about this? Do you perceive this as dangerous?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, "actually I am quite happy for you and just a little jealous of those feelings. I trust that you have a millennia of life experience that will help you navigate this new emotional state. I mention it only so that you will be aware of the need for such navigation."

I smiled, "OK, I get it. I, like Sookie, need to find my new normal."

Godric returned the smile, "Exactly. It's almost sunset; I'll be heading out to Bon Temps to collect Fintan. We'll meet you at the warehouse." I nodded, and he was off.

After I had showered, dressed, and carefully re-centered myself, I took off toward the warehouse to set everything up. I'd had a screen and Powerpoint projector delivered during the day, and I'd instructed the Were guards to get everything ready, so this was just a check in on how they'd done. It looked like everything was in readiness, and we only awaited the arrival of Godric and Fintan. The Weres informed me that the prisoner had been very quiet during the day except for some occasional crying they could hear. I'm sure his grief over his wife was great, but then, they should have never attacked my Sookie.

Pamela and Rasul were the first to arrive. They'd missed out on the interrogation the night before, so I filled them in. Both were anxious to see Fintan at work. I informed them that they were to focus all of their attention on monitoring the physical responses of our captive to the pictures he would see. If we were all focused on that, it should be impossible to miss. After all, he should really only react to seeing someone familiar to him.

Finally Godric and Fintan arrived. I rather expected that they would teleport, but they had opted to drive over in Sookie's truck instead. No matter… they were here now. I sent two Weres to retrieve our prisoner and explained once again the plan. While all the vampires were monitoring physical responses, Fintan would be in his head looking for any changes there.

Tannis was brought into the rather large room struggling against his chains and his guards. Ultimately he was settled into a chair facing the screen. I instructed a Were to make sure that Tannis had no option other than to watch the screen, just in case he tried to look away. The Were stood behind him with his hands on either side of his face, fingers ready to make sure his eyes stayed open.

I asked if everybody was ready, then hit the remote control to start the Powerpoint program. Before the slides started there was a tinkling of music that continued with the slides. We all began chuckling, and I looked over to Godric who just shrugged, "It seemed appropriate."

Fintan asked, "what is this?"

Godric informed, "it's a classical piece called 'Aquarium' by Saint-Saëns; sounds like soothing water, don't you think?"

Rasul and Pam both nodded and mumbled, "yeah."

Fintan tilted his head, "actually it sounds kind of like creepy water … and totally appropriate for the circumstance." The music played on a loop through the entire Powerpoint slide show. After it was over we all gathered in the room next door.

"He recognized two vampires," Pamela said first. All other vampires agreed, and we looked at Fintan.

"That's what I picked up as well. But only one place. I think these vampires must be working together from that place."

I agreed, "hold on." I retrieved the laptop and altered the slide show down to the two vampires and the place. "Let's try again. He probably thinks we weren't able to pick up anything from him. Let's see how he reacts when we show him what we've learned."

I hooked the laptop back up when we returned to the room. Then I turned to the fae, "let me show you what you just told us, Tannis." I hit the first slide, "you met near or on this bridge in Centennial Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma." His eyes widened, and he started shaking his head, and muttering no, no, no, no, no. I continued, "and you met these two vampires…" First there was a picture of Queen Freyda of Oklahoma, whose picture caused his heart rate to climb higher. I said, "and this vampire… " I showed the picture of Victor Madden, and his heart began beating so fast it might explode. So, Victor must have been the one to do the glamouring.

He started struggling once again against his chains, "I told you nothing! You could not know this from me. What kind of witchcraft are you using? Was that what that music was? I told you nothing!"

Rasul observed, "that sounded pretty much like a confirmation to me. What do the rest of you think?"

Fintan looked at Tannis, "these vampires are familiar to you, yes?" Tannis just stared at him defiantly. Fintan shook his head, "Tannis, Tannis, Tannis, have you so soon forgotten our talk from last night? I know that the male vampire, this …"

"Victor Madden," all four of the vampires present said as one.

Fintan cocked his eyebrow at our unison delivery, "this Victor Madden is the one who glamoured you, and I'm not asking you something that you can't answer due to that glamour." Fintan waited again, but Tannis still said nothing. "Why do you want to make me hurt you? I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't cooperate. So tell me, are you familiar with these vampires?"

Tannis just stared straight ahead and closed his eyes. Fintan crossed to stand right in front of him and knelt down, "pain," he whispered. Immediately, Tannis began to grimace. His teeth were gritting as he began to make mewling sounds. Rasul and Pamela watched in fascination as Fintan worked. Just as the night before, it wasn't long until Tannis was screaming. Fintan let the pain continue for a few minutes before he waved his hand to take the pain away.

Tannis was gasping for air. He looked at Fintan who was almost kneeling in front of him. "Please… " was all he said.

"Tannis I won't hurt you again if you tell me what I want to know," Fintan said very gently. "Please, Tannis, don't make me hurt you again. Do you know these vampires?"

Tannis shook his head, "I can't… I can't… "

"Why can't you?" Fintan asked.

"It would be wrong… " Tannis answered.

"Ah," Fintan said. "So you could tell me what I want to know, but you think it would be wrong to tell me?" Tannis nodded his head. "I see," Fintan said, "well, Tannis, that was just about the most wrong answer you could have given me. Because now I know that you _can_ tell me, but you are choosing not to. Do you see Adaris over there?"

Tannis opened his eyes and looked behind Fintan, "Adaris? They told me you were dead!"

"A small lie. But now because you won't tell me what I need to know to protect my family, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hurt yours. Pain Adaris…"

I was stunned. Had Fintan created an illusion of a dead fairy to torture Tannis with? I continued to watch how Tannis reacted. And react he did, "STOP! Stop hurting her."

"I'll stop hurting her if you tell me what I need to know, Tannis. She's only hurting because of you. You alone have the power to end her agony."

"She's screaming. Have you no heart? Please, please stop hurting her."

"Tell me what I need to know, Tannis." We waited, but Tannis said nothing but whimpers for the imaginary pain of his dead wife. Fintan upped his game, "Adaris, your hand is forfeit." Amazingly not one drop of blood was being shed in this torture.

Now Tannis was screaming as if with Adaris.

Rasul whispered to Pamela, "why is this so hard to watch? There's no blood. I don't get it, but I am finding this very painful to watch."

Pam nodded, "it's definitely different. I sure as hell hope I'm never on the receiving end of something like this." I saw Rasul nod with big eyes.

Fintan put his hand on Tannis knee, "Tannis, TANNIS! Listen to me. You can end Adaris' suffering; you've got the power to do just that. Just tell me what I want to know. What were your instructions from the vampires?"

"I won't tell you anything until you stop hurting her, you monster. She's the mother of my children, please,please stop hurting her." Fintan moved his hand in front of Tannis face. Tannis squeezed his eyes shut and uttered, "thank you."

Fintan continued, "all right, Tannis, I've done what you asked, now I need you to tell me. What were your instructions regarding Jason and Sookie Stackhouse?"

"We were told to capture them. The vampires wanted them alive, but a bunch of us weren't terribly committed to that notion."

"In other words, you wanted to kill them?"

"I didn't, but some of the others did. They are abominations after all."

"What were the vampires going to do with them once they had them?" Fintan asked.

"I don't know for sure. The woman didn't want them at all. She just wanted them out of the way."

"So Victor Madden was the one who wanted them?" I asked. Tannis nodded. "Why did Freyda, the female want them out of the way?"

Tannis shrugged, "she mostly wanted the girl out of the way so that she could have the girl's vampire for her own."

Godric asked, "she wanted Sookie's vampire? Why?"

"She wants to marry him. He'll make her kingdom stronger. She became enraged when their engagement was announced or even mentioned."

Fintan stood and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged, "about seven or eight years ago, Freyda sent me an offer of marriage. I turned her down. She tried to 'sweeten' the deal a couple more times, but I continued to say no. I even informed her that I had no interest in marrying at all. That was true at the time. So much time had passed, that I had never given it another thought."

"You didn't think this was worth mentioning?" Fintan asked.

"Your highness, it's been years since this happened. I had no reason to think it was even relevant."

Godric added, "Eric did not add Freyda to the slide show. I did. I remembered her proposals from years back."

Ever-practical Pam asked, "what do we do with this information now that we have it?"

I thought, what do we do indeed? There was a lot of planning in our future.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Thank you so much to all who reviewed since the last time, as of 8/12/17 (my birthday!): Asami's clown, VampMad50, Perfecta999, MsNorthman, ciasteczko, jackie69, ericlover69, tleel, Nicolle1977, Duckbutt, lundyred, Hummingbirdgrrl, FlowerChild23, pattyfullwood, Casey8686, fanfictionfan4444, Jadajuice, ljhjelm49, suzymeinen.

And special thanks to princessspot5 for helping me work through a problem. Your advice was appreciated, and oh so valuable. Thanks so much!


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – Phone Tag

 _Last time:_

 _Fintan stood and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged, "about seven or eight years ago, Freyda sent me an offer of marriage. I turned her down. She tried to 'sweeten' the deal a couple more times, but I continued to say no. I even informed her that I had no interest in marrying at all. That was true at the time. So much time had passed, that I had never given it another thought."_

" _You didn't think this was worth mentioning?" Fintan asked._

" _Your highness, it's been years since this happened. I had no reason to think it was even relevant."_

 _Godric added, "Eric did not add Freyda to the slide show. I did. I remembered her proposals from years back."_

 _Ever-practical Pam asked, "what do we do with this information now that we have it?"_

 _I thought, what do we do indeed? There was a lot of planning in our future._

Now:

Rasul asked, "what do we do with this water fae?"

We all turned and looked at Tannis, who appeared unconscious. Fintan offered, "I can end him if you think he's of no further use."

Godric shook his head, "there may yet come a time when we need more information, about both the vampires and the water fae. Let's just keep him as our prisoner for now." He turned and looked at the Weres, "see that he gets some food and water, but do not let him out of his chains or his cell."

Fintan added, "be very careful with the water you give him. He made need it to drink and bathe, but make no mistake, he is a water fae. It is through water that they are able to work their magic."

The Weres, who had just witnessed Fintan's interrogation techniques with wide-eyed wonder, just nodded. One of them cleared his throat, "your highness, what is your recommendation for the best way to give him water?"

Fintan thought for a moment, "let him have just a little at a time – even to just a few drops at any time. Under no circumstances allow him to accumulate any amount of water." He seemed to be pondering something, "when my grandson was a little boy, he had a pet hamster. There was a … contraption in the hamster's cage that the animal would push against to release a few drops of water at a time. If you could rig something like that, and monitor its use, that would be best."

One of the Weres nodded his head, "I had one of those, too. I know exactly what you are talking about. I think I can rig up something like that."

Fintan smiled, "very good. I will leave it in your hands." He thought for a moment, "I warn you to be on your guard because he may find ways to save water into an accumulation, including saving it in his mouth to spit out later, so watch him very carefully. It may sound somehow cruel, but make sure he swallows every drop he takes."

I added, "remember that this fairy tried to capture or kill the prince's grandchildren, and my bonded. He is not to be pitied." All the Weres nodded their understanding, and they carried him back to his cell.

Pamela asked again, "what do we do now?"

Just then my phone rang. I pulled it out, and it was a call from Sookie, who knew what we were doing tonight and wouldn't call unless it was important. I also felt a huge wave of irritation from her. "Sookie, is all well?"

A huge sigh preceded her answer, "oh, how I wish I could say yes. Eric, do you remember that creepy little blond vampire who tried to take us in the greenhouse?"

"Andre? Yes, what is wrong?"

"Well, either they let him go, or he escaped because he's outside my Gran's house yelling obscenities at us and threatening to burn down the house."

Oh, for Odin's sake. I looked up; both Fintan and Godric had heard. Godric said as he tossed me some keys, "make sure that Sookie's truck is returned to her." I nodded, and they teleported out, much to the further astonishment of the Weres present, presumably to Adele's house.

"Sookie, your grandfather and Godric," I started.

"Yeah, they're here now. Sorry to have disturbed you, and thanks, Eric. I'll talk to you later." She hung up before I could say another word. I tried to remember that however annoyed I was by Andre's intrusion into the evening, she was probably twice as annoyed.

"How in the hell did Andre get free?" Pamela asked. "I thought of all of the arrests, his was the most secure since he was locked up in that psychiatric hospital." I shook my head. This was the last thing we needed.

I looked at her and Rasul, "you two go on to Fangtasia and take care of business there. I'm going to head over to Bon Temps."

Pam cocked her head to the side, "Master, do you think that is wise?" I looked at her in question. She continued, "it is one thing for Godric and Prince Fintan to take down Andre. You however are a subject of the Louisiana monarch, who is Queen Sophie Ann until we are instructed otherwise. If you are seen interfering with Andre, it might mean real trouble for you later on if, by some miracle, she remains queen."

"You make a very good point, Pamela," I agreed, "however, my bond with Sookie supercedes my allegiance to the queen. At least in this one point. A bond is the most highly respected union in our world."

Rasul seemed to be thinking something over, but he also seemed hesitant to speak. "What is it, Rasul?" I asked.

He let out an unnecessary sigh, "Eric, I don't mean to cause trouble for you, but there is the possibility that Sophie Ann might try to claim precedence over your bond to Sookie."

I looked at him in question, "how is that possible? What do you mean?"

"Even though, according to the mandate of the Authority, it is illegal to procure humans unwillingly, Sophie Ann sent her procurer for the Stackhouses before you'd even met them. I know you have this contrived and documented story of knowing them long before she sent Bill Compton, but if she were ever able to prove that story false… She could claim right of priority. That you, in fact, interfered with _her_ property."

"We are bonded. Nothing overrides that. Plus there _is_ the mandate from the Authority against the procuring of unwilling humans," I countered.

"And as your friend Shakespeare would say 'there's the rub.' Sookie and Jason aren't human, are they? There is no such mandate against procuring other supes." He looked at me and shrugged, "just saying."

Well, fuck me running. He was right. I felt an overwhelming need to kill something, preferably Sophie Ann. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. Finally, I let out a sigh of my own, "well, it's good to know that all your time at court was well-spent and provided you with this insight. Do you have any recommendations?" Gods, he was so smart; I was just glad he was on my side.

He thought for a moment, "is there any doubt in your mind that Fintan and Godric can handle Andre?" I gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look. He smiled, "then, I recommend you let them handle it… him. It keeps you out of the immediate line-of-fire as far as Andre is concerned. Later, if necessary, you have plausible deniability regarding the Stackhouses and Andre."

I nodded because what he said made sense. Pam leaned over to whisper in his ear, "didn't I just say the same thing in a whole lot fewer words?" I couldn't help but chuckle at her statement. Rasul just smiled at the two of us.

I handed the keys to Sookie's truck to Pamela. "Return her truck to her later tonight; you don't want Andre to see the two of you either," I instructed. "For now, meet me back at Fangtasia so that we can think about what to do about Freyda and Madden." Pam nodded, and she and Rasul took off.

After they left, I took a walk over to the cell we were using for Tannis. He was awake now and sitting on the bare mattress that was on the floor. He was still wrapped in chains. That was the only thing that would keep him from teleporting away. Several times tonight I had felt the need to kill. First, Sookie's pedophile uncle, then Victor and Freyda, and now I absolutely wanted to end Andre and Sophie Ann. All for the same reason: Sookie. I wanted to kill them for what they had done to her or what they wanted to do to her. It was probably not a good idea to visit this fae in this frame of mind. However, when I looked at him, he looked rather pitiful.

"Is Adaris well?" he asked.

"She's fine," I lied.

"I don't suppose you'd let me see her?" he asked. I shook my head. "I didn't think so, but I had to ask." He leaned back against the wall behind him. "We weren't even supposed to be there."

"Where?" I asked.

"At the home of the abominations," he answered. I growled, loudly, at that statement. "It's what they are, whether you like it or not," he inhaled a shuddering breath.

"What did you mean, you weren't supposed to be there?" I asked.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Adaris and I are artists. She's a painter, and I'm a sculptor. We aren't fighters. Lakes and rivers! I've never been in a fight in my life." He softly banged his head against the wall a few times. "We're never leaving here alive are we?" He opened his eyes and stared at me. I said nothing nor gave any indication of an answer. "That's what I thought. Lakes and rivers, what will happen to our children?" he cried.

"How many children do you have?" I asked.

"Three. That's why I thought we would be exempted from activities like this. It's rare enough for fae to have one child, let alone three. And they were all individual births, not triplets."

"You were forced to participate in this attack?" I asked.

His voice was tiring, "yes, we were forced… out of our home, out of our realm, and into this attack."

"Why didn't you refuse?"

He laughed sardonically, "not an option that presented itself."

"Why do you hate 'abominations' as you call them?" I asked.

"In our realm, we are taught from the cradle that fairies who aren't totally fairy are abominations. The dilution of the blood cannot be permitted."

"And why did you buy into this obvious lie?" I asked.

"It's taught as truth. I know no other way to think! Why do you care about fairy hybrids?" he asked me.

I smiled, "the girl's vampire? That would be me… I love her at least twice as much as you love Adaris."

He snorted, "not possible."

"Tannis, I am over a thousand years old. I have never fallen in love in all that time… until now. Shall I tell you about the 'abomination' I love? The woman you tried to help capture or kill?" I didn't wait for his response to the question. "She's so, so kind, she helps people all the time, and she never, _never_ judges people for what they are. She only decides about their value based on _who_ they are – on what they say and what they do. She's so fucking smart; she graduated at the top of her high school and college classes. She's already almost finished her first graduate degree – with only weeks to go until she graduates, and she is already looking forward to learning beyond that. As an artist, you should appreciate this: she's creative. She has scientifically created night-blooming flowers just for vampires and others, and they are beyond magnificent. By the gods, the colors, the scents… what she has created is akin to the creations of the gods themselves. In addition, she and her brother, you know, the other abomination, create works of art with plants every day. They bring amazing beauty into the lives of so many people. She's dedicated to her family, and she takes care of them. She's funny; she is so clever and witty. I hardly ever laughed before I met her, and now I laugh all the time. And after walking this planet for more than a thousand years, I think she is absolutely, hands down, without-a-doubt, the most beautiful woman I've ever beheld." I chuckled, "and don't even get me started on how sexy she is… It's no wonder that kings and queens want her. She is the most magnificent person on the face of the entire fucking planet." I paused for a moment, "and because of your entrenched, ridiculous, and completely false bigotry, you sought to destroy her." I had not spoken so much at one time probably in my entire life, and only Sookie could inspire such an outpouring.

I paused, "did you ever think about the fact that being a hybrid fairy is something completely beyond the control of the hybrid. They were not at all in control of the circumstances of their conception or birth. Surely, somewhere in all that warped teaching you were subjected to a sense of fair play!"

He just looked at me. I continued, "what if the leaders of your fae clan suddenly, and for totally flippant and cavalier reasons, decided that the children of artists were abominations? What if they questioned the value of artists to such a degree, that your children were the subject of their scorn? After all, artistry alone doesn't put food on the table or clothes on their back or a roof over their heads."

He lifted his chin, "artists are revered in our society. We document and celebrate our culture."

I smiled, "I think artists are among the most important people in any society. But what I'm saying is, what if, for some arbitrary reason, your leaders decided otherwise? That's just as random and arbitrary as deciding that hybrids, who have no control over their parentage, are abominations."

Tannis just looked at me, and then large wet tears started rolling down his face. "We didn't want to come. We were ordered. I'm so, so sorry."

"You understand, then, why you are here, yes?" I asked. He quirked an eye to me. I added, "let's say the situation were reversed, and I'd crossed into your realm uninvited and, for a really crappy reason, tried to capture or kill your Adaris, or your children. What would you be doing right now if I had been captured?"

He spit out through gritted teeth, "I would KILL you!"

"And yet you are alive. Which begs the question, Tannis, who is the better man?"

"You are not a man!" he screamed.

"Said the fairy to the vampire," I smirked as I responded. I nodded to him, "good night, Tannis." And I walked away.

I made my way back to Fangtasia wondering what was happening in Bon Temps. It vexed me not to be there. I knew that among Fintan, Godric, Thalia, the Britlngens, the Weres, the witches … that little weasel Andre was more than outmatched. Plus as we learned recently Jason is not without skills of his own, and apparently on her next birthday, Sookie would come into her own defensive abilities. At any rate, as of tomorrow night she would be living with me.

I made it through the back door of the club and into my office where I sat and booted up my computer. I opened up a live stream of news and put it into a window in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen. I was wondering if the news media would find out about Andre's little assault. I shook my head. The continued attempts to abduct the Stackhouses had to seem ridiculous, at this point, to the American public. There had to be a huge, collective wondering of WHY? going through their heads. I was just grateful that the media seemed to have totally missed the water fae attack. It occurred to me that Andre must have had no knowledge of all the coverage. I was pretty sure he wouldn't have been shown any of it in the psychiatric hospital.

I snorted a little as I imagined therapy sessions at the psychiatric hospital with Andre. In my imagination, Andre was strapped into a silver-lined straight jacket, and he was reclining on a pink upholstered chaise in the therapists office:

Therapist: Is your full name Andre?

Andre: (snarling) Of course not, you human swine, my full name is Andre Paul. You will learn to fear and respect it… and then you will die, pitifully and horribly, by my hand.

Therapist: That's quite the threat, Mr. Paul. Why do you feel such animosity towards me when all I'm trying to do is help you?

Andre: (laughs hysterically) How could a lowly human buffoon such as you presume to help me? You will beg me for mercy before I am through with you.

Therapist: I see. So, do you hate all humans?

Andre: Hate them? (drops fangs) I love them. They are quite delicious.

Therapist: Do you want to eat me?

Andre: I _will_ eat you someday.

Therapist: That's fairly rude. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?

Andre: (growling) My mother was a slut. She fucked anyone who approached. I don't ever remember a time she wasn't spreading her legs for some man.

Therapist: Ahhhh… Well, now things are beginning to make sense. Let's explore these problems with your mother further… So she was a prostitute?

Andre: How dare you say anything like that about my mother. She was a Countess! I will kill you slowly and painfully. You will beg to die!

Therapist: But I thought you just said that she, and I quote, "fucked anyone who approached"?

Andre: Yes, so? I am from France. What does her frequent fucking have to do with your false assumption of prostitution? We are aristocrats! We fuck, you moron.

The ringing of my office phone pulled me out of my Andre/therapy session fantasy. "Northman," I said as I answered the phone.

"Viking!"

I took one full second to gather myself so I could sound calm, "Victor, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" All the while my mind was screaming, 'you will die, you will die, you will die!' As I was talking to him, I shot off an email to Raphael to find the whereabouts of Victor Madden through a trace on the office phone line.

There was a pause on the other end, "I was just wondering if all was well with you, my friend?"

I'll just bet you were, you wretched piece of … "Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

Again, another long silence. "No reason."

"How are you faring, with your king in government custody?" I asked.

He chuckled on the other end of the line, "yes, that was most unexpected. I'm just glad that I was elsewhere."

OK, time to fuck with his head, "and exactly why were you elsewhere? It kind of seems like you had some kind of advanced warning about all this. I wonder what the Authority would make of this."

"I did NOT betray my king!"

"Yeah, Ok. If you say so," I added. I let him simmer on that thought before I added, "I sure hope so, for your sake, that the Authority comes to the same conclusion… my friend."

He continued, "and how is the lovely Sookie Stackhouse?"

I smiled, "are you asking about my bonded and my fiancé?"

There was a rather longer pause, "your bonded? That is most unexpected, Viking. And your fiancé?"

"Yes, I just heard that the Supreme Court has heard a case about human/vampire marriage. I'm anxiously awaiting their verdict." 

Victor chuckled, "you actually _want_ to get married to her? I thought the marriage proposal was just to keep her in line."

Well, just how stupid are you, Victor? "I actually do. I love her, and I don't care who knows. More importantly, I will KILL anyone who tries to hurt her or interfere with us. KILL, with extreme prejudice." Now you have been well and truly warned, Victor.

"My, my, my," he said. There was another longish pause, "so she hasn't reported anything of interest happening lately?" You mean like an attack from a bunch of rogue water fae?

"I don't know what you are getting at, but no, she hasn't," I replied. It occurred to me that if vampires believed that Sookie and Jason could protect themselves, vampires might just be deterred from attacking them.

Again there was a pause. "When did you last hear from her?"

I was starting to enjoy this exchange. Obviously he was fishing for information. "Uhmmm… about half an hour ago…"

"And she is well?" he asked.

Now, I really wanted to mess with him. "You've heard of phone sex, surely?" I asked.

"Well, yes," he answered.

"Well, I just came several times just from her vocal ministrations." I sighed, "I don't think I actually need to have sex for a while, since that phone call," I chuckled for his benefit. I only hoped I wasn't creating more desire for my Sookie. I added, "it's so amazing. I fought the very concept of love for a thousand years, but once I opened myself to it, I have never been more happy." I paused, "however, my Sookie is such a good girl, I'm pretty sure she would never, _never,_ be able to do that with anyone else. Not only is she a one-man woman, she is a lady after all." I only hoped that Victor didn't detect that I was over-sharing and figure my game out.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye on the corner of my computer screen. Apparently the Supreme Court had rendered an opinion on vampire/human marriage rights. "Hold on, Victor, I have some other news coming in on my computer screen." I put the phone on hold so that he wouldn't know what I was reacting to and how I was reacting. Plus, having him hold gave Raphael more time to trace his location.

I waited for the news to unfold. Before long, a news anchor from some news network somewhere continued the broadcast, "we bring you the historic decision of the United States Supreme Court regarding to rights of humans and vampires to marry." I waited with baited breath for the decision.

The news anchor announced, "this decision is in: 'No longer may this liberty be denied,' the court wrote for the majority in this historic decision. 'No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.'

" 'Marriage is a keystone of our social order, the leading justice said, adding that the plaintiffs in the case were seeking 'equal dignity in the eyes of the law. And to that end, we, the Supreme Court of the United States of America, do declare the right of all citizens to marry, including vampires and humans.'"

I sat in silence for a few moments taking in the enormity of this Supreme Court decision. Holy Crap! Holy Fucking Crap! Sookie and I can get married!

My cell phone began ringing. I answered, "Northman."

I could hear Sookie on the other end, "did you see, Eric, did you see?" I could feel her excitement and her absolute joy.

I chuckled, "hold on, my love, let me get rid of the caller on the other line." I tapped the icon on my phone, and then the button on my office phone, "Victor, are you there?"

"Yes, Viking, I am."

"Well, I'm going to have to hang up on you. Something has come up."

"But, Viking…" I had already hung up and hit the icon on my cell phone

"Yes, my love," I said. "I saw the news story."

"Wow, Eric. I can feel how happy you are, too. Isn't this great?" she asked.

I laughed, "well, all we need to do now is set a date!" We both laughed together in our shared, giddy joy. When we had calmed down somewhat, I asked, "my love, what happened with Andre?"

She continued laughing, "oh, that… It was over in only a minute or two. Apparently, Andre didn't anticipate Godric would still be here. Godric took him back to the same greenhouse you questioned that captured fairy in last night. Fintan and he are back there now, still questioning him, I presume."

"Well, my Sookie, I'm serious about getting married. Take tonight and tomorrow to consider when, where, how you want to get married. I want to give you the wedding of your dreams."

"You are the best man I've ever known. I said so the first night we met." I laughed. "Really, Eric, I love you so much, and I can't wait to be your wife."

"And I can't wait to be your husband. I'll let you get back to packing because you are still moving in with me tomorrow. I don't want anything to interfere with that."

"Good night, my Eric. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Good night, my future everything," I responded. She chuckled as she hung up.

A moment later Godric walked into my office and sat in the chair in front of the desk. I raised my eyebrows in question.

"I just came from the Shreveport police station. It turns out that Andre escaped from the psychiatric hospital. They were happy to re-take custody of him because he was a less-than-stellar patient in the hospital. Apparently, he was constantly threatening to eviscerate or eat everyone there." I couldn't help but laugh at just how accurate and spot-on my fantasy therapy session was.

"He was alone?" I asked.

"Yes. He is a fool," Godric answered.

"Why did you and Fintan drive to the interrogation site? You could have been there in seconds if you had teleported," I asked.

"Ah," Godric responded, "that was Fintan's idea."

"Does he have a thing for riding in the vehicles of this realm?"

Godric chuckled, "if only. No he wanted to talk to me. He said, and I quote, 'I have noticed your burgeoning interest in _my_ Adele'."

"Oh my. What did you say?" I asked.

He smirked, "I was honest with him and admitted that he spoke truth. I also said that although I might be developing affection for … _his_ Adele, I would never dishonor him by acting upon it. That I was content sometimes just to spend time in her company and talk."

"How did he respond to that?" I asked.

He shrugged, "he said that he preferred that I not spend time with her, but that he knew that she enjoyed our discussions, and he would not deny her that contentment. He may have also thrown in some blatant death threats if I ever crossed the line, as well." I snorted, and he continued, "I would have done the same if the situation were reversed."

"Did you happen to ask him about Sookie's pedophile uncle?"

"Oh yes. When I asked him, he looked straight ahead and clenched his jaw. This is apparently a sore spot for him. He admitted that he was chagrinned that this human filth still lived. But he had promised Adele that he wouldn't kill him. However, he was happy to admit that he did, in fact, scramble his brain. He actually made it so that Bartlett Hale would never be able to get an erection for the rest of his life. He also made sure that if he ever even just thought about sex AT ALL it would create great pain throughout his body."

I nodded, "Well, on another note, Victor Madden called me tonight."

Godric looked up, "really? What did he want?"

"He was on a fishing expedition. I acted as if nothing was amiss. Let me check something," I said as I looked at my email. I had one from Raphael that said simply 'he called from Bossier City.' "Well, fuck! Madden is in the Shreveport area right now. Or he was less than an hour ago." I typed a reply that said, 'exact address, if possible."

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Sookie's number, she answered, "hey you. Are we going for a new record for the number of phone calls in one night?" she giggled.

"Well, tonight is the last night to break the record!" I laughed with her. "Sookie, I need you to put Clovache on the phone for me, please."

She was silent for a moment, "is everything OK?"

"I'm sure everything is fine. Please, just let me talk to Clovache, my love."

"OK, hold on," I could hear her walking through the house, and I could hear as she told Clovache that I wanted to talk to her.

"Yes?" Clovache answered.

"Clovache, please casually move away from Sookie so that she doesn't hear this conversation. Now, I have reason to believe that the vampire who was behind the water fae attack is in the area. I need you to be on guard for anything else he might try. Please inform Batanya, Thalia, and Fintan if he is still there. Stick very close to Sookie once we hang up, OK?"

"I understand. Do you not want her to know about this threat?" Clovache asked.

"She's had so much to worry about in the last few days. However, I don't like to keep things from her. Please put her back on the phone," I asked.

In just a moment Sookie answered, "Eric, what's going on?"

I shook my head, "oh my Sookie, I hate to bother you with this, but it turns out that the vampire behind the fae attack has surfaced locally, but we don't know where he is. I've given instructions for Clovache and the other guards. Please listen to them when they warn you about anything, I mean anything at all. OK?"

"For crying out loud. What the heck is going on? The fae, Andre, and now this? All within twenty-four hours!"

"Do you see why I want you under my roof?" I asked.

"Tomorrow night can't get here fast enough for me," she responded.

"Nor for me either. Rest easy, listen to your guards, and I'll see you before you know it. I love you, my Sookie."

"I love you, too, Eric. Thank you for taking such good care of us. See you tomorrow," she said before she hung up.

"See you tomorrow," I whispered. I checked my email, Raphael had responded that the call was narrowed down to an area, but not an address. I looked at Godric, "want to go on a rat hunt?"

Godric smiled, "what are we waiting for?"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Footnote: I used the language from the Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage for the announcement of vampire/human marriage. Isn't google great?

Thank you so much for all of the reviews I've received since the last posting, as of 8/19/17: lundyred. Casey8686, FlowerChild23, jackie69, tleel, VampMad50, Perfecta999, ericlover69, Asami's clown, peachesgo, Duckbutt, hummingbirdgrrl, pnwer, MsNorthman, ciasteczko, Princessspot5, lhjhelm49, Suzymeinen, The Vikings Succubus, Guest, pattyfullwood, LoverPati, ashmo2000

Especially thanks for the birthday wishes from tleel, pnwer, MsNorthman, Guest, and pattyfullwood. Leo's rule! 


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 – Free

 _Last time:_

" _I love you, too, Eric. Thank you for taking such good care of us. See you tomorrow," she said before she hung up._

" _See you tomorrow," I whispered. I checked my email, Raphael had responded that the call was narrowed down to an area, but not an address. I looked at Godric, "want to go on a rat hunt?"_

 _Godric smiled, "what are we waiting for?"_

Now:

We walked out of the back door of Fangtasia and took to the air. I headed toward the area that Raphael had specified in Bossier City, and Godric followed.

While we were up in the air, Godric asked, "when did you and Sookie complete the bond?" I just looked at him with a puzzled look. He continued, "I've heard you refer several times now to Sookie as your bonded. When did you complete it?

I smirked, "well actually, we are only partially bonded."

Godric looked puzzled, "what does that mean? I've never heard of such a thing. Is that like being just a little bit pregnant?"

I chuckled, "we've only had two exchanges, but she already feels me. We think it is because she's not entirely human."

"So… technically you aren't bonded, but you have all of the benefits of a bond," he stated rather than asked.

I thought about that, "I would think there may some benefits of a full bond that may still be wanting, but basically, your assessment is correct."

Godric was silent as we flew toward Bossier City. Finally, he asked, "do you still want to complete the bond?" We were crossing the river from Shreveport to Bossier.

"More than anything."

"Have you asked Sookie if she is willing to become a vampire," he asked.

"We've discussed it, but there is a silver lining to her hybrid status. She will age very, very slowly. Right now she is undecided about being turned. But we have a few centuries, perhaps a millennium with regular ingestions of my blood, for her to decide," I looked at him and waggled my eyebrows.

"And, what if in two or three centuries, or a millennium, she decides to let herself die?" Godric asked.

"Then I will have had a few centuries, perhaps a millennium, of absolute bliss. I don't think anyone can ask for more than that."

"But if she dies, you die."

"Again, I state, after centuries of joy, bliss, total happiness. That's so much more than anyone I've ever known has had. Surely, you don't disapprove of happiness."

"Eric, I can't bear the thought of you dying."

"Weren't you the one who confirmed to me that Sookie's life was already tied to mine… just the other morning? Bond or no bond? Yes, I'm pretty sure it was you who was leaning against my bedroom doorjamb assuring me that we would keep my Sookie safe when I began to panic when I had figured out how her death would affect me." I chuckled.

Then he chuckled, "fine. Bond with her, and be happy."

I smiled, "yes, Master, as you command." He rolled his eyes. I held up my hand, and we froze, suspended in the air. I began to whisper, in case there were any vampires, specifically Victor Madden, in the area, "Raphael informed me that the call came from a four block by four block area, starting right at this corner," I pointed. "I think we should fly low enough over the houses to not only hear what may be said inside, but also perhaps to scent Madden, if he is down there." Godric nodded, and I continued, "let's work from the outside-in, flying in opposite directions." Godric nodded again, and we took off slowly hovering over the houses as slowly as possible. When we met up again at the starting point we moved in to the next interior block.

I arrived at the central rendezvous point when I looked up and saw Godric hovering over a house about five down from where I was. He looked up at me, gestured for me to join him, and rose higher into the air. I joined him about a hundred yards in the air above that house, and he whispered to me, "Victor Madden has been in that house," he pointed directly below.

"Is he there now?" I asked.

"I do not know, but his scent is very strong in and around that house."

"Could you hear anything?" I asked. He shook his head. "Wait here," I said. I slowly and quietly swooped down to get the street address for the house and returned to him. I pulled out my cell and dialed Raphael, and when he answered, I asked him who owned the house at that address. He checked records and told me the house was owned by Diane Johnson.

"Fuck!"

"What is it, Eric?" Godric asked.

"Remember those losers who wanted to move into the area? At least the mystery of the Disco triplets has been solved. I _knew_ there was a reason they kept circling this area. They work for Madden. Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Godric said, "I thought they were most anxious to move to a house in Ruston."

"Obvious misdirection. They are Victor's spies here in Area 5."

Godric seemed to think something over for a minute before he said, "Diane Johnson is a fairly common name in this country. Could it possibly be a different woman?"

I gave him my best, 'are you shitting me?' look. Godric both chuckled and shrugged, "worth a shot."

I asked him, "did you get a look inside the house?" Godric shook his head. "Well, then, let's see if we can get a look, shall we?" We began slowly lowering ourselves to the house, and like a synchronized swim team, together we spun until we were both upside down, head nearest the ground. We quietly circled the house like that, but all the lights were out, and no one was home, but we could see inside regardless. We un-upside-downed ourselves and flew back a hundred yards in the air.

"What did you see?" I asked.

Godric thought for a moment, "nothing really that would help us. Whoever lives there isn't overly… uhmm… tidy. There were all kind of things strewn about including some clothes, most of them had sequins." I thought of the halter, sequin dresses that Diane like to wear; you have to love how easy it is to spot the flashy dresser. He continued, "but there was no one there in the house."

I nodded, "well, at least we know of Victor's attachment to the Disco triplets. I will put out an area-wide alert for their presence in case they try to sneak back in. I will assign a guard detail to this house as well as Malcolm's house in Ruston. I'll also have Raphael see if he can find any other properties that they or Madden may own in this area. I guess that's all we can do for now." Godric nodded, and we headed back to Fangtasia.

On our way there, Godric's phone rang. He answered and seemed very interested in the call. The whooshing of the air while we flew made it impossible for me to overhear the other side of his conversation. By the time he was finished we were touching down in the back/employee parking lot.

"Well, that was interesting," was all he said. I looked at him quizzically, and he just said, "Let us go inside. Are Rasul and Pamela in the club?"

"They should be, why?" I asked.

"Have them join us," Godric instructed. I called for them down the hall as we were entering my office, and they appeared right away. I whispered to Pam what we had found in Bossier City.

We all made our way into my office, and Godric said, "can you stream live television on your computer?"

I nodded, "of course, that is how I discovered the Supreme Court decision on marriage."

"OK, do it now… on the news network," he stated.

I tuned in and let it fill the screen and turned it so that we could all watch. Apparently something was happening in Washington. The anchor was speaking over a visual of three men walking up to a podium with a bank of microphones. I looked at Godric, and he was smiling back at me. Holy crap! Was that really Roman Zimojic walking up to the microphone? The Guardian of the The Authority was about to speak publically to the world!

"Good evening. I am Roman Zimojic, and I am the head representative of all vampires in America. I have been meeting for the last few weeks with Senator Scherzer from Ohio," he gestured to his right, "and Representative Moltisanto of California," he gestured to his left. "Together we have been looking at the problem of the illegal vampire monarch system in this country. Before the Great Reveal, it was necessary to have such a system to assure a peaceful, if secret, co-existence between vampires and humans. That secrecy is no longer necessary. However, human law enforcement is, at present, ill-equipped to handle unlawful vampires because the fact remains that vampires are stronger and faster. It's just a fact of our re-birth into this second life. Therefore, in order to continue to maintain the peace between us, something needs to exist that will allow vampires some authority to police themselves. It is hoped that this will allow human law enforcement to become more fully integrated with vampire officers and agents. Until that time, we have proposed the following:

"First, the dismantling of the illegal monarch system. I have spoken personally with every monarch in the United States and informed them of this unilateral decision. Some were not happy, but all have accepted this verdict. From this moment forward, there are no more kings or queens over vampires."

"Holy Goats," Rasul said. No kidding, I was also trying to wrap my head around the no monarch idea.

"Second, until such time as vampires are fully integrated into the human law enforcement agencies and police forces, there will be a Vampire Liaison Officer in each state. Most of these Liaison Officers will be the former monarchs because they are in the best position to place into this new role. However, they have been informed of the differences in their new positions, and they will not have the power of life and death over vampires in their jurisdiction, and the first amendment of the constitution as it applies to freedom of speech will be afforded to all vampires in the country, and it will no longer be legal for any Vampire Liaison Officer to collect taxes from their constituents. Financing for all vampire positions will come from other sources. Two states are currently without monarchs: Louisiana and Nevada. The Vampire Liaison Officer in Nevada will be Sandy Sechrest, who has an intimate understanding of the vampire infrastructure in that state. The Vampire Liaison Officer of Louisiana will be Rasul al Basir, for the same reasons. May they both have the best interests of the vampires in their states at heart."

Fuck. Me. Running. I didn't see that coming. I heard both Rasul and Pam gasp. Rasul asked, "how? What is… " He seemed unable to continue.

Godric chimed in, "he called and asked me who I thought should be given the reins of Louisiana, and I suggested you. Perhaps I should have told you, but you'll have to forgive an old vampire for wanting to surprise you."

Rasul looked amazed, "thank you, Steg Far. Truly. It never even occurred to me…"

Godric smiled and nodded, "and that is precisely why it has to be you."

I added, "well, boss, tell me what you need." Rasul chuckled, and we returned to the Guardian's speech, where he'd apparently been laying out the differences between the monarchs' absolute rule, and the new human-acceptable rules under which the new Liaison Officers would be working.

Roman continued, "third, each state is currently divided into areas presided over by Vampire Sheriffs. It is through the hard and diligent work of these sheriffs that actual vampire law enforcement occurs. It is the opinion of Senator Scherzer, Representative Moltisanto, and myself that these positions should be maintained, for the time being, for the safe and peaceful co-existence of vampires and humans.

"Fourth, and finally, human law enforcement will begin a recruiting campaign to hire vampires into all areas of law enforcement and security agencies, as well as police forces in America. It is estimated that it should take five years to fully implement this part of the plan. At the end of that period, the need for each state's Vampire Liaison Officer and the area Sheriffs will be re-evaluated. To jump start this recruitment program, one of the oldest and most respected vampires in America, actually the world, as well as one of the most efficient and effective sheriffs, Godric the Gaul of Dallas, will work with the American government to help establish recruitment guidelines."

We all turned to look at Godric. He shrugged, "after that discussion with the agents at Adele's house, I called Roman and offered my services."

"Does that mean you will be leaving here soon?" I asked. Please say no, please say no. I had just really re-connected with my maker.

"Not until we are assured of the safety of Jason and Sookie. I have told them this," Godric answered. I felt both relief and sadness. On the one hand, I was glad to have the extra security for Jason and Sookie that Godric provided; on the other, I had hoped he would finally settle in my area, and we could be close again, as in the days of old.

"Eric," Godric started, "I feel that you have some reservations about this. As Roman said, it will take about five years to implement this recruitment plan. What is that amount of time between you and me?" He smiled.

He was right. I was being both silly and selfish. I nodded to him with a smile of my own and said, "well, at least we know where The Authority has been these last few weeks."

Godric continued, "Indeed. As soon as we settle things with Victor Madden and his cohorts, though, I will be heading to Washington to work on this plan." He turned and looked at Rasul, "I think your first official act should be to put out, what is it called? An APB, All Points Bulletin, for Victor Madden and the… what do you call them?"

Pam and I said together, "the Disco Triplets."

He chuckled, "yes, the Disco Triplets, and get them into custody."

I shook my head and asked, "how do you know about APB?"

Godric looked affronted, "I have seen television shows in my life." We all laughed at that.

Pam asked Rasul, "does this mean you will be leaving for New Orleans?"

Rasul looked at Godric, and he nodded with a smile, "I think I need to go to New Orleans… for a short while, but nothing says that I have to have my headquarters there." He smiled again at Pam. "Do you want to come with me, and, I don't know, help me?" he asked her.

She actually smiled back at him, "love to." He smiled back at her, and I wondered for about the millionth time what was going on with the two of them. I could feel through the maker/child bond that Pam had genuine affection for Rasul. But what did that mean, exactly? Pam was one of the most complicated individuals I'd ever known. I finally just shook my head and thought I'd just let whatever happened… well, happen.

We all decided to walk out into the bar and have a Royalty Blended to the new regime. When we got onto the main floor of the club, all of the vampires present, including Francois, stood from their seats and knelt to Rasul. Apparently the news broadcast had also played on the club monitors.

Rasul smiled at all of them, gestured for them to rise, and said in a soft voice, but one that all vampires would hear, "thank you, and you never have to do that again. I am _not_ your king. This is a new age. We are finally approaching equal citizenship with the humans of this country. I will do my best to help lead us there as quickly as possible."

At first there was silence, but then there followed applause for the new de facto king of Louisiana. Of course, the position had a new name, but the fact remained, that this was Sophie Ann's replacement. And I couldn't be more happy about it. In fact, in spite of Victor Madden and the Disco Triplets, Andre and the water fae Tannis, this was turning into a great night. Not only was my honest and decent brother now over all vampires in my state, but also Sookie and I were going to be able to get married!

One of the younger vampires approached, "Mr. Rasul, is it true? We now have constitutional protections just like the humans? We are free to speak as we please? Without fear of charges of treason?"

Rasul thought over his answer, "yes, apparently you are. We all are. However, be aware that the freedom to say whatever you want does not mean freedom from all consequences. And I'm not talking about charges of treason. How many times have you seen the media coverage go off the charts about various _human_ celebrities, politicians, or business leaders who have said something blatantly sexist or racist or just ragingly improper? Many have lost careers over something like that. I ask all of you to be thoughtful and circumspect about what you speak. We want to be valuable, contributing members of society, after all. We especially want the human world to see us that way."

The young one nodded, "I understand and appreciate what you are saying, but I'd just like to say one thing: may the bitch-queen Sophie Ann LeClerq rot in hell!" A chorus of "here, here" circled the room. The young one continued, "but best of luck to you, Mr. Rasul." Again they all repeated, "here, here."

I couldn't help but chuckle. I knew Sophie Ann wasn't particularly loved by the vampires of Louisiana, but I didn't realize they actually hated her. That was an eye-opener. I wondered briefly what they would say about me if they felt safe to do so, which I suppose they were now. It should prove interesting to watch and experience these changes to our world over the next few months/years. I'm pretty sure that my Sookie has no idea how much she has changed the world, all our worlds.

Rasul leaned over to speak in my ear, "I'd like to buy a Royalty Blend for all vampires present." I nodded and walked over to inform the bartender. The waitresses would tell everyone that the drinks were on their new Vampire Liaison Officer. Meanwhile, we all made our way over to my booth and slid in. It wouldn't be very long until last call, but we just chatted amiably for awhile sipping our own Royalty Blend. We would get most amused when discussing some of the monarchs turned Vampire Liaison Officers. Some of them had been vampire monarchs for centuries, and some were really 'old school' when it came to their expectations of court behavior. We could only imagine how they were going to cope with becoming plain old vampires again.

I guess Freyda was really shit out of luck, too. Roman had made it very clear that there were no more kingdoms, AT ALL. So there was no need to try to take over another kingdom or worry about being taken over. There was no advantage to it, and more importantly, The Authority would strike hard and fast against anyone who went against their newest and most public mandates. And I was pretty sure there was no such position as _consort_ to the Vampire Liaison Officer. She had no reason to want me now, unless she just, maybe, had a psychotic crush on me. I shook my head at that silly thought. We weren't teenagers, after all.

However, the fact remained that she had been behind an attack on my Sookie. That demanded some kind of retribution. My head was scrambled by what that might mean under this new regime. I'd have to talk that over with Rasul… my new boss. That concept also scrambled my brain. No doubt, soon he would receive a detailed briefing on all of the new laws and expectations from both The Authority and the U.S. government.

"So," Rasul began, "why me?" We all chuckled that he was finally asking the question.

Godric answered, "If the monarch system hadn't been abolished, we would be sitting here with you as the new king of Louisiana. I had suggested you for that to The Authority soon after we became aware of what Sophie Ann was up to. She was going to be gone no matter what. But Roman told me to hold off on that idea because there were other plans afoot. He called me about a week ago and gave me a brief update on his meetings with the human government, and asked if I still thought that you would be good as the titular head of vampires in this state. I told him that I did."

"But, why me?" Rasul asked again.

"It had to be you, Rasul. You are respected by all who have met you. Even that Homeland Security agent who arrested you admitted that he liked you. You are smart, experienced, well-regarded, and over eight hundred years old. The only vampire in this state who is older than you is Eric, and I already knew that he wouldn't want this job. With your political/court experience, especially your network of connections, you are perfect for the job."

Just then Rasul's phone rang. He answered, "Rasul al Basir." He listened for a moment, "yes, sir. Please hold on for a moment while I go to a better location for this conversation." He slid out of the booth and mouthed the words 'The Guardian' to us. I pointed toward my office. I looked at Pam and indicated for her to go with him. He may not be a king, but that didn't mean that he didn't need to be guarded.

"So, the financing of all these positions will come from somewhere other than taxation? Where?" I asked.

Godric shrugged, "I wasn't in on that part of the planning."

I suggested, "here's a thought, why don't we collect the now unnecessary crowns, scepters, thrones, crown jewels, and all other royal regalia from all of the now deposed monarchs and have one huge, honking yard sale somewhere in the middle of America. For that matter, let's also sell all the palaces as well. That alone should fund this program for the next five years."

Godric chuckled, "I'm not entirely sure that isn't about to happen." He thought for a moment, "more likely, all of the state vampire treasuries are likely to be confiscated, if they haven't been already, and redistributed as necessary."

"Do you really think that all of the former monarchs are going to just sit back and watch their worlds change like this?" I asked.

"Of course not," Godric answered, "but I know that one of the reasons it has taken so long for The Authority to come forward with this plan was because Roman was setting up all of his pieces on this elaborate chessboard of kings and queens. These monarchs will soon find, that like it or not, this is the new way of things, and they'd better adapt or find themselves out on their asses, let alone out of all control of their states. This new order is set up more like a corporation rather than individual kingdoms, and in any corporation, anyone can be fired."

"Still… some will try to buck this system," I concluded.

"I'm sure of it, and they will no doubt be made an example of what happens when they do; their transgressions will now be under public scrutiny, and more importantly government scrutiny," Godric said. "Roman's very, very serious about affording all vampires true equality. Unfortunately, he has also put a big target on his back. It's just a good thing he is one of the most carefully guarded individuals on the planet."

I thought about all that Godric had said, but I just found myself laughing. He looked at me quizzically which made me laugh even harder. I shook my head, "I'm just trying to imagine King Sergei of Massachusetts as he navigates the non-royal waters ahead of him. And King Duncan, Queen Helga… and the list just goes on and on. I don't know how they are going to adapt … change. They've been monarchs for so long. I see a huge learning curve ahead of all of them. Might The Authority have to send tutors to help them through this transition? Lessons titled "How _Not_ To Be A Self-Entitled Asshole." Godric started chuckling at the imagery as well.

Then Godric snort-laughed, "imagine the homework: volunteering for charity, filling out a job application, doing your own laundry, shopping at Walmart…" Soon we had fallen into giddiness.

Francois walked up to the booth and asked, "what is so funny?" And I don't know why, but that simple question made us laugh even harder. I looked over and Godric had a blood tear rolling down his cheek. I wiped at my face and discovered that I was also shedding blood tears from the laughter. Francois tried again, "it's a new world, yes?" At which Godric and I leaned over and lay down on the seats of the booth, flat out howling with laughter. Soon, Rasul and Pamela had joined Francois standing before the booth.

I heard Rasul whisper to Pam, "what is wrong with them?" And a fresh wave of mirth grabbed us.

Pam asked, "was Jason Stackhouse here tonight?" At that statement Godric and I all but scream-laughed. Pam tried again, "what is so fucking funny?"

"Godric gasped for air between bouts of laughter to say, "King Sergei doing his own laundry…"

I added through gasps, "Queen Helga shopping at Walmart…" And the two of us were off again.

Rasul and Francois were also starting to chuckle. I looked out into the club where the human staff were cleaning up, and they were all staring at us in alarm. Gods, that was funny too! A few moments later my phone rang.

"Northman," I managed to choke out between giggles.

"Eric? Are you all right?" Sookie asked. I lost it again.

Pamela picked up my phone, "Sookie?"

"Hey Pam, what's going on? At first I could feel amusement from Eric, but it just grew and grew in intensity until it became alarming."

Pam turned to look at us with the phone to her ear, "yes indeed, it is quite alarming. Evidently, Godric and Eric are in the middle of a giggle fest." She paused to look at Rasul and Francois, "and apparently it is contagious because Rasul and Francois are starting to chuckle as well. Did you see the news tonight about the change in the vampire regime?"

"Yes, I did. Isn't that good news?" Sookie asked.

Pam answered, "I thought so until I came out here to find this guffawing group of giddy madmen."

Godric choked out, "guffawing group of giddy madmen?"

I responded between laughs, "try saying _that_ five time really fast." And now all four men present were laughing. Pam however just rolled her eyes. But… but… her lips were starting to quirk up at the corners. I could see it.

"He's fine, Sookie. Something funny about tonight's official pronouncement has just set him and Godric off. He'll call you when he's straightened up a little. However, at this rate, it might not be until late tomorrow afternoon."

"OK, Pam. Thanks," she chuckled herself, "I'll wait to hear from him. Good night."

"Goodbye, Sookie," Pam responded and hung up the call. She tossed the phone back onto the table. "Now, what the hell is going on with you clowns?"

Godric seemed to sober up some, "Pamela, don't you get it? When we become vampire, we are told of all the wonderful things we are getting: strength, speed, powers, immortality. It takes a while for you to realize what you have also given up. But, after two millennia, I'm free. We are all free. We all now get to make our own destiny… just like all the other inhabitants of this planet. Me, you, Eric, Rasul, Francois… all of us … are free. For the first time ever. Forgive me if I'm just a little giddy with the very concept."

I felt myself sobering as well. Godric was right. This entire concept of freedom was unfamiliar. I had become a sheriff so that I would have some control over how much I would be under the rule of another. I smiled, "and on top of this new-found and gloriously unbelievable freedom, I'm getting married! Legally! To a woman I love more than life itself. You'll have to forgive me, Pamela, if I'm a little giddy myself." She shifted her position while she took in what Godric and I had just told her. "Plus, my little brother just got a HUGE promotion, my long-time friend Francois is here for us to share his company, you look more lovely than ever… Life just feels fucking good… "

Slowly, very slowly, these ideas seemed to sink in with Pam. And she, very slowly, began to smile. I got up out of the booth and hugged her and kissed her on her forehead. She was my most beautiful child. I then turned to Rasul, and we clasped forearms like brothers/warriors of old. Then I grabbed him and embraced him as well. I turned to Francois and just embraced my friend. Yes, I thought again, in spite of everything, this was a very good night.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who reviewed since the last post, as of 8/25/17: Jadajuice, Asami's clown, Casey8686, Cutelittlelumpofwool82, Nicolle1977, ericlover69, Jfozz, VampMad50, Duckbutt, ljhjelm49, Guest, E. B. Rhome, MsNorthman, georgiasuzy, Perfecta999, jackie69, ciasteczko, suzymeinen, bttrflybelle, tleel, FlowerChild23, hummingbirdgrrl, ashmo2000

Special thanks to georgiasuzy who, coming late to the party, reviewed after every chapter as she read it, and somewhere along the way submitted review number 700! Thanks ever so…


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – Moving Day

 _Last time:_

 _I smiled, "and on top of this new-found and gloriously unbelievable freedom, I'm getting married! Legally! To a woman I love more than life itself. You'll have to forgive me, Pamela, if I'm a little giddy myself." She shifted her position while she took in what Godric and I had just told her. "Plus, my little brother just got a HUGE promotion, my long-time friend Francois is here for us to share his company, you look more lovely than ever… Life just feels fucking good… "_

 _Slowly, very slowly, these ideas seemed to sink in with Pam. And she, very slowly, began to smile. I got up out of the booth and hugged her and kissed her on her forehead. She was my most beautiful child. I then turned to Rasul, and we clasped forearms like brothers/warriors of old. Then I grabbed him and embraced him as well. I turned to Francois and just embraced my friend. Yes, I thought again, in spite of everything, this was a very good night._

Now:

After we left the club, three of us returned to the house. For some reason, Rasul wanted to come with us tonight, instead of going home with Pamela. His reasons became apparent when we settled in for the night. He was grilling Godric for advice on several different scenarios. Apparently his conversation with The Guardian had stimulated his thinking, and he wanted to know how to handle special situations. I was beginning to appreciate what a forward thinker Rasul was. And clearly he was smart enough to come to Godric for advice.

"The Guardian made it clear that I was to solve the vampire problems of Louisiana. So far, all I know is to bring the sheriff's together and determine exactly what the problems are. Is there anything else that I'm overlooking?" Rasul asked.

There was a bit of silence before I added, "well, there is the problem of Jason and Sookie Stackhouse. There is also the problem of Sophie Ann raiding the state treasury to pay off her IRS debt."

Rasul shook his head, "there is also the problem of the financial records for the kingdom."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They can't find any of Sophie Ann's financial records. So, it's going to be very hard to piece together the records of the entire state," Rasul responded.

I just looked at him for a moment before I started to laugh. Again. Soon, I was laughing uncontrollably. Godric and Rasul looked at me in question. I simply said, "come with me…"

They followed me out to the garage. I walked to the back of my corvette and popped the trunk. I crooked two fingers to them, and Godric and Rasul joined me behind the car. I pulled up a box, "these are the entire financial records for the state of Louisiana as of about two weeks ago. Sophie Ann had asked me to review these to improve her position in her marriage negotiations with Nevada."

Rasul just stared at me for a moment, "Holy goats… didn't I hand these to you when you were in New Orleans?"

I smiled, "yes, you did. I honestly thought I would never actually need to review these. But here they are. Knock yourself out."

Rasul chuckled, "actually Eric, this is great. It's one thing not to know the finances of the former kingdom with its independent accounts, but it's quite a different thing to have no idea of the finances of the entire rest of the state. Thank you."

I smiled at them both, "well, that's sorted."

Rasul asked, "I don't suppose you had a chance to do any kind of review of these records?"

I smiled, "didn't know and didn't care. Sorry, my friend, but the last thing I wanted to do was Sophie Ann's job. The only reason I agreed to do it was to get released from her to return to my Sookie."

"I see," Rasul said. He was silent for a few moments seeming to think things over.

"What?" I asked.

He looked up at me, and asked, "uhmm… could you help me review these financial records?"

I laughed again for the, I don't know how many times in one night, before I answered, "I will happily help you, by brother. Although, I had been fervently hoping to avoid doing just that for Sophie Ann."

After that, he and I hunkered down to review the financial statements from the various areas of Louisiana. We only got through two areas before dawn, and we had to go to our day rest.

As I lay in my bed waiting for the day to take me, I realized that today was moving day. Tonight, Sookie and I would begin our lives together in _our_ home. I was excited about that, and mentally went over the few things in this house that I might want to bring with me. It was with these thoughts that I finally succumbed to the day.

 **Sunday, 3:42 p.m.**

Roll out of bed, stretch, grab the remote and swish the mouse. Time to start the day.

And what a day it was! Moving day! I checked the news channel, and there was coverage of the new vampire regime. There was even one extended story about Rasul: about how he had been arrested the week before by Homeland Security, about the press conference we'd held where I'd referred to him as honorable and decent, and how he'd been released because of it. The news coverage even included pictures of him and Pamela from the charity ball. They concluded that Rasul was definitely an improvement over the terrorist Sophie Ann LeClerq. I couldn't agree more.

After that, I used vamp speed to pack up the few things I wanted from this house. By the time I had finished that, Rasul was up, and we continued going over the financials from the other areas. We managed to finish two more areas before sunset, which only left my area, which I told him I could give him better details that Sophie Ann had. I emailed him a detailed synopsis so he didn't have to review all of the financial statements. In short, he had a fairly complete view of all of the areas of the state, and all he had to do was review the kingdom's private accounts, which would be fairly simple since Sophie Ann had pretty much bankrupted herself. I sure as hell hoped that The Authority had some plan to help with that.

At sunset, it took the three of us about three minutes to load all of my stuff into the SUV, and together we drove over to mine and Sookie's house. It took us only minutes to unload, pile back into the SUV, and head to Bon Temps. Rasul had decided to stay in Shreveport, continue reviewing the financial statements, and visit with Pamela.

On the drive over to Bon Temps, Godric said, "calm down, Eric. I can feel your excitement like it was on steroids. If I can feel it, then so can Sookie, and she's probably nervous enough right now."

Of course he was right, so I took some slow, cleansing breaths. I tried not to think about having Sookie safely under my roof at last. I also tried not to think about having sex with her in every room in the house-one at a time as well as in the pool and in the hot tub and in the yard and in…

"Eric!" Godric practically shouted. "Knock it off… whatever you are thinking about. You are only making matters worse." I just smirked at him and continued with the cleansing breaths.

When we pulled into the driveway on Hummingbird Lane there seemed to be a beehive of activity. Even though it was Sunday, and The Enchanted Forest was closed, there were a lot of employees working in and around the greenhouses. I guessed that they were preparing for some of the pending landscaping jobs. I parked and we walked over to Sookie's truck which had yet to be loaded up. I walked up to the house and knocked on the door. Jason answered, and he looked flustered. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He shook his head, and said almost in a whisper, "if I thought it would do any good, I'd warn you to go away. There be crazy women in here." What did that mean? Was Sookie having second thoughts? It was then that I realized that what Godric was feeling from me before was actually what I was feeling from Sookie. She was a nervous wreck. I walked into the living room and Adele was on the sofa quietly crying.

I asked, "Adele, is all well?" She nodded and let out a deep sob. I was at a loss for how to deal with this. "Is there something I can do for you?" I tried. She just shook her head and let out an even bigger sob. I looked at Godric, and for once he looked as completely lost in the situation as I felt. Soon Sookie came downstairs carrying a box. She was crying, too. "Sookie, what is wrong?" She just looked at me, let out a sob, put down the box with several others, shook her head and ran back upstairs. What the hell? I looked at Jason who was leaning against the archway that led into the dining room.

He chuckled and said, "told ya." I raised my eyebrows. He shrugged, "I don't know. They were fine up until about a half-hour ago, then the waterworks just started."

I took in that information and headed upstairs to Sookie's room. There were still a lot of boxes up here. She was sitting on her bed just staring into space and sniffling. I went and knelt in front of her and took her hands into mine. "Sookie, what is wrong, my love?" I asked. She leaned forward and put her forehead on my shoulder.

"I'm fine Eric. It's so crazy. I was just so happy about an hour ago. And then Gran got sad about me leaving. And then I got sad about leaving her. I mean, she will be all by herself here in this house now."

"Are you having second thoughts now? About the move?" I asked.

"NO!" she cried. "I want to move in with you more than anything. I just… "

"You just what?" I asked.

"I just worry about Gran being lonely. Am I being selfish, Eric?"

I thought about her question for a moment because I wanted my answer to be honest, especially since I very selfishly want her to move in with me. "Sookie, look at me." She lifted her face and looked with teary eyes at me. "I think what Adele and you are feeling is very natural. I also think that Adele does not expect that you will live the rest of your life with her. I am also fairly sure that she wants you to be happy and would be upset with herself if she thought she was truly keeping you from happiness."

She said very softly, "you really think so?" I nodded. She took a big sniff, "well, all right then. Let's get this move under way." She wiped her eyes and gave me the most beautiful smile. I took her hands and lifted her up off the bed. Together we picked up boxes and took them downstairs. Godric and Jason had already taken the boxes that were downstairs to Sookie's truck. Godric and I kicked it into vamp speed, ran upstairs and each grabbed about five boxes each and ran them out to the truck. In just two or three loads we had totally gotten all of the boxes in the truck. Sookie had a set of luggage that she had packed as well, and we loaded those into the back of the SUV. Godric and Jason were laying straps and bungee cords over the boxes in the back of the truck to make sure they didn't slip in transit. Everything was ready.

I turned to Sookie and smiled. She crossed to her grandmother and hugged her, "just remember, Gran, Jason and I are only a phone call away. I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

Adele just let out several sobs, "I'm sorry, Sookie. I'm just going to miss having you in the house with me. Forgive a foolish old woman and her sentimentality. I am actually very happy for you." Then she sobbed some more. Oh, for fuck sake.

Surprisingly, Sookie didn't break down again, but she kissed Adele on the cheek, turned to look at me and said, "let's go home, shall we?" My heart sang at those words. Home. Our home.

"We shall," I said. "Clovache will ride with you, and Godric and I will meet you there."

Godric said, "Adele would you feel all right if I visited with you for a while?"

"I'd love that, Godric," Adele answered.

"Very good," I said. "Sookie, follow me, OK?" And we were off.

When we got to the house, the three of us started unloading Sookie's things from her truck. She and Clovache were unloading at their speed, but I was using vamp speed, and in a matter of minutes we had everything in the house. It turned out that one of the suitcases in the SUV was for Clovache. Sookie took her upstairs and let her pick out her own room. Clovache wisely retired there for the evening.

Sookie came back down and started to move to the boxes, but I grabbed her and whirled her into my arms. She looked at me in question. "Is there anything in those boxes that absolutely has to be unpacked right away?" I asked her.

"I guess not, but I don't want to be living out of boxes forever."

"And I don't want you living out of boxes forever, either. But this is our first night together in _our_ home. I thought we might find a better way to spend the time…" I said as I waggled my eyebrows.

"I guess I know what better way you are thinking of… I felt you earlier when you were feeling quite… well, randy."

I laughed heartily at that phrase, "randy, eh? I haven't heard that expression in quite a while. But your guess is spot on." And I bent down to give her a devouring kiss.

When I let her come up for air, all she could say was, "wow!"

I just looked at her and said, "hot tub. Now." I picked her up and carried her outside and divested both of us of our clothes in a matter of moments. Then I lifted her up, and we drifted down into the warm water. I rubbed my body all over hers. It had been since Thursday that we'd been able to fuck. I know that was only three or four days ago, but so much had happened in the interim that it felt like months. Seriously, the whole world had changed in the last few days. There was an attack by the water fae, then that attack was linked to Victor Madden and former queen Freyda. Then Andre escaped from the state psychiatric hospital and tried to attack. Then Victor was tied to the Disco Triplets. Vampires became emancipated and got the right to marry humans. Rasul was promoted to my boss. My head spun just thinking about the massive changes.

I took a breast into my mouth and worshipped it. Literally. I prayed my thanks to Freya for gifting me one such as Sookie for my mate. I switched to the other breast and gave it equal worship. All the while my hand was circling that place between her legs that would make her see stars. Finally, I lowered her onto my waiting erection, and once again, it felt like coming home. I almost chuckled at the ironic pun under the circumstances. She gripped my shoulders and started her ride.

"Every day, Sookie, every day we can have this," I gasped out. "For the rest of our lives. For all eternity if we choose it."

She looked up at my face as she continued to work her up/down on me. The look showed surprise, as if she hadn't considered this bliss in her forever view. "I'm home, Eric. I'm home at last," she said with tears in her eyes again. She wasn't alone.

I felt tears in my eyes as well, "yes, my love, you are. You are home. WE are home." She slammed her mouth onto mine and we kissed and kissed and kissed, changing the angle of our mouths every few moments. Finally she hugged me so tightly, "I love you so much, Eric. You have no idea… "

"Oh, my Sookie, I have a very, very good idea because I love you so very much." I kissed down the side of her neck and bit. He blood tasted so FUCKING GOOD! "Sookie, I want so much to complete our bond. Then no one, I mean no one, can legally take you away from me. Please."

She looked into my eyes and said, "yes, my love. Let's do this."

I wished I had a ceremonial knife, but I reached up with my thumbnail and made a slice across my neck. "Drink Sookie and bond with me. Be one with me." She latched on, and I resumed drinking from her. After a moment I felt a warmth run all through me. I opened my eyes and saw a bright yellow light surrounding us as she licked the final remnants of my blood off of my neck. I licked Sookie's neck and healed the puncture wounds. Soon I was panting from feeling the intense heat of the yellow light. I resumed my attentions to that special bundle of nerves, and when Sookie began to come, I sped up my thrusts upward into her, and we came together. When we did, a spectacular light flashed forth from the joining of us.

We were both panting when I asked, "what the hell was that?"

"You saw it, too?" she asked.

I chuckled, "kind of hard to miss… " I then took stock of how I felt as a bonded vampire. I could feel all of Sookie's feelings with such an incredible clarity. By the gods, she totally loved me. Even though I knew that already, to feel it so completely was such an amazing confirmation. I couldn't believe what a lucky, lucky vampire I was. I just hugged her to me and closed my eyes. "You're mine now and forever. As I am yours. I love you so, so much, my Sookie. "

She sniffled again, "oh my God, but I can feel that you do. That is so amazing." I could feel her tears hit my shoulder.

"So… " I said.

"So?" she asked.

"So, now we can legally get married. Let's set a date. What do you think?"

She chuckled in my arms, "which do you prefer, sooner or later?"

"Let me just put it this way, I wish we were married already. Does that answer your question?" I smiled.

"Sooner it is, then. How does three weeks from last Friday sound?" she asked.

I frowned, "three whole weeks?"

She laughed, "yes, you big doofus, I need at least three weeks to find a dress, plan a ceremony, etc. etc. You can surely wait that long?"

Was this a negotiation? "How about two weeks. Pam can take you shopping. She's an expert, and I guarantee you will find a dress. Where do you want to have the ceremony?"

"Two weeks, eh? Hmmm… Do you think we might be able to get the Bonne Chance ballroom for that? Do you have any influence at all with the owner?" she grinned at me.

What a wicked little vixen. I responded, "I might be able to make that happen, as I am very close to the owner. To be honest, I don't know what is on the schedule, but I'm pretty sure I can use my influence to make even the impossible happen."

"OK, then," she said. "So, we will have the ceremony and reception at the Bonne Chance. I would say Fangtasia, but the atmosphere there is kind of tawdry. Sorry, honey, I had a good time when we were there, but that was my take on the club. It lacks a certain amount of… hmmm… festive-ness." I nodded in understanding, and she continued, "the Bonne Chance, however, was quite festive, and I would be proud to have my ceremony/reception there."

"Well, Miss Stackhouse, as you will soon be the co-owner of the Bonne Chance, I'm pretty sure we can make that happen," I told her.

"No, no, no, Eric. I don't want to co-own your properties."

"So sorry, Miss Stackhouse, but that's how it works. Whatever I own, you will own, once we are married. I'm pretty sure that is uniform throughout most of the United States. If you are my wife, we are co-owners of each other's properties," I told her.

"Oh ho, now I see who you are, you clever so-and-so, this was all just a manipulative ploy to get your hands on The Enchanted Forest," she grinned to me.

"What a clever girl you are to uncover my devious plan, Miss Stackhouse," I grinned in return. "I have an overwhelming need to own a bunch of plants."

She frowned at me, "don't make it sound like a big buncha-not-that-much, Eric. The Enchanted Forest is a viable, successful business."

I nodded, "I apologize, my love. That was the least of my intentions. I am very proud of what you and Jason have accomplished. And I'm very impressed with the sheer artistry of your landscaping talents."

Finally, we just both started giggling. I had never felt so happy; we floated in circles around the hot tub. I said, "so, two weeks from this past Friday, you and I are getting married at the Bonne Chance ballroom?" She nodded. "Do you have any preference for who performs the ceremony?"

She shook her head. "So, you trust me to find an officiate?" I asked. She shrugged. "Fine, I will find someone. The most important thing to me is that this ceremony be official and legal in all ways. Human, vampire… all ways." She nodded her head. "So, we are agreed. At least on this much?"

She smiled, "oh, my Eric, we are agreed in so, so many ways. But, yes, we are agreed on this much for our wedding."

I smiled back at her, "I know exactly who will perform the ceremony. Is there anything else about the ceremony we need to discuss?"

"The invitations?" she asked. "How many do you intend to invite?"

I thought that question over while calculating, "about fifty or so?"

"Well, shoot," she said. "Can you get me that list ASAP?"

"Why do you perceive this as a problem?" I asked. "I'll make sure they know they are invited."

She smiled at me, "because, in order for it to be official, I need to send them an invitation. I'll need to do a rush order on the invitations tomorrow, and get them out in the next few days." She rubbed her hands up and down against the skin of my head and neck. I closed my eyes at the bliss of the feeling. I may have even moaned at the sensation.

"Just give me the invitations I need to send. I will make sure that they get them," I said with my eyes still closed.

"Eric, it doesn't work that way…"

"Why can't it work that way? Is there some kind of wedding rule that humans know about for this? I can't hand deliver these invitations?" I asked. "Sookie, you and I are the creators of our own rules. Whatever we say goes. Why is this a problem?"

She tilted her head to the side for a moment, "I guess you are right. We can create our own rules, and I don't see any reason not to do things our own way. I guess I'm just steeped in unnecessary human tradition."

I smiled, "Excellent. Now, let me know how I can help you with this whole wedding thing." I leaned her back against the side of the tub. I had never withdrawn from her after our previous lovemaking. So I just resumed sliding in and out, in and out. She moaned when I started moving again. "So, Sookie…"

"Mmmhmmm," she replied with her eyes closed and her hands holding on to my shoulders. "When are your orals for your thesis?"

"about a month… " she answered through her gasps.

I continued thrusting, "do you still want to go to the Amazon for our honeymoon?"

"Oh, God, Eric, how is it you are talking right now?" she chuckled.

I smiled at her, "with a certain amount of difficulty, my beautiful Sookie." I continued moving, "so… the Amazon?"

She was breathing more and more heavily, "maybe someday, but perhaps not for our honeymoon… where would you like to take me?"

"Excellent way to phrase that. I was hoping that maybe… " It was getting more difficult to speak, "maybe… you might…" I wasn't going to last much longer, "you might… want to see Venice… "

"That… sounds… very… romantic," she whispered just before her eyes rolled back and we both came together. Very loudly.

Sookie slapped her hand over her mouth, "do you think Clovache can hear us?"

I chuckled, "don't worry about her. I'm sure she's been on protection duties before. Part of her job description is to let you live your life."

"Well, that's embarrassing. I didn't even think about her watching or listening to what we were doing."

"And you shouldn't. She doesn't expect you to. She is here to protect you at your job and when you are travelling to and from your job. And also when I can't be with you."

Sookie nodded, but I could tell from her feelings in the bond that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the possibility of Clovache observing our sexual encounters. She thought for a moment then said, "another thing that I guess I have to find a new normal for."

"Yep." I answered. "Do not worry, Sookie. You have been handling all that has been changing in your life with great aplomb. I'm very proud of you."

"Aw, shucks, thanks Eric," she sassed me, and I loved it. "Who are you going to have stand up with you at the wedding?"

"Stand up with me? What does that mean?"

"Well, traditionally the bride has a maid of honor and maybe a bridesmaid to two. The groom has a best man and groomsmen."

I thought about that. I asked, "so you pick a couple of women to stand with you, and I pick a couple of men?"

She sighed, "here's where I was thinking of really breaking with tradition. I was going to ask Jason and Lafayette to stand up with me. I don't really have any close girlfriends, and I'm closest to those two."

"So Pamela could stand with me, and I need one more to match your number?" I asked.

"Absolutely," she said. "I think you should have the people closest to you when you get married, regardless of tradition."

We started kissing again, and the happiness ping-ponging between us was almost delirium inducing. When we finally stopped kissing, Sookie laid her head on my shoulder.

"Eric, I hate to be a party pooper, but I've got to get to bed. Tomorrow is a work day for me." She paused, "how is that going to work for us? I mean I've got to sleep like a regular human; so what will you do then?"

"We'll figure that out as we go, my love. I can do a lot of work from home, but sometimes I may need to leave after you go to sleep. Let's just play that by ear, OK?"

She thought that over for a minute, "there may come a time when I will want to adjust my work hours to start later in the day. That would give us more time together. I don't think I can do that just yet, but maybe soon."

"I'd like that very much, my Sookie," I smiled. "Let's get inside so you can get some rest."

We went inside, showered together, among other marvelous things, and laid down together. Once she was asleep, I got up and at vamp speed unpacked all of her boxes. I wanted to surprise her, and if she didn't like where I put things, she could always move them later. I tried to put everything in logical places so that she could easily find whatever she needed in the morning. Finally, I stacked all of the flattened, empty boxes out by the trash pick-up.

I still had a little time until dawn, so I called Godric, told him about our wedding plans, and asked him if he would fulfill his role. Even though I was sure he would agree, I felt immense joy when he did. Then I called Pam and Rasul and told them about the wedding. Pam was overjoyed, mostly because she would be shopping again in the near future. Ah well…

After I'd left messages with the concierge at The Bonne Chance about the wedding, I did an internet search for printers who could do overnight invitations. I printed out the list for Sookie, and left it with a note for her explaining where I'd unpacked everything. I ended the note with telling her how happy I was with her here in our house, how much I loved her, and how I was looking forward to our wedding. I also let her know that I'd already called The Bonne Chance, and they were awaiting any instructions from her.

I was just about to climb into bed for the day when my phone rang. Raphael informed me that he'd discovered through his extensive network that the former queen of Oklahoma was on the move toward the Louisiana border. I made a few calls, talked to Clovache for a few minutes, and smiled as I died for the day. Bring it on, Freyda.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Special thanks to all who reviewed since last time, as of 8/29/17: Asami's clown, MsNorthman, VampMad50, hummingbirdgrrl, FlowerChild23, AmiraMo11, Jfozz, tleel, Casey8686, bttrflybelle, ericlover69, Duckbutt, fanfictionfan4444, Nicolle1977, pattyfullwood, jackie69, ciasteczko, georgiasuzy, ashmo2000, grammysharbear2, Perfecta999

So, you're getting this chapter a little early. This is because I am homebound by Hurricane Harvey; I'm trying to make something positive out of the situation. Keep your fingers crossed for us.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – Monday Night Fever

 _Last time:_

 _I was just about to climb into bed for the day when my phone rang. Raphael informed me that he'd discovered through his extensive network that the former queen of Oklahoma was on the move toward the Louisiana border. I made a few calls, talked to Clovache for a few minutes, and smiled as I died for the day. Bring it on, Freyda._

Now:

Monday, 2:56 p.m.

I looked at the clock when I woke. 2:56? I'd never risen even nearly that early ever. Humans would never understand that every minute gained in our day was a victory. To gain this many minutes was a miracle.

So… roll out of bed, stretch, grab the remote, swish the mouse, start the day. What to do with the additional hour or so I'd gained? Godric wouldn't be up for another half hour at least. This was crazy! I looked around the bedroom. The note and printers' list I'd left for Sookie were gone. Good, she'd taken those with her.

I looked at the on-screen cable company directory for what was on television at this time and settled on someone named Ellen Degeneres. Since I'd never been up this early, this was a woman I was unfamiliar with. Hmmm, apparently she likes to dance. It seems she especially likes to dance with her audience. This might be fun. Wait, I'd seen this woman before; she hosted the Academy Awards in the past, and she was very funny. I sat back in my desk chair and put my feet up on the desk. I soon realized that this was some kind of talk show. Her first guest was an Academy Award winner, Nicole Kidman, who was talking about some actor she'd insisted play her husband on some HBO mini-series. Whatever…

I checked my emails while the show was playing. Oddly, I had one from Freyda. This should be interesting, I thought, so I opened it:

 _My Dearest Eric,_

 _I have not heard from you in quite a while, but I live in hope, every day, of hearing from you. Why do you torture me this way? You know that we would be so good together. My offer of marriage still stands. I will shower you with gifts and pleasure beyond your wildest dreams._

 _Don't be obstinate; you know you want me. I've heard of playing hard to get, but this is getting ridiculous. You are lucky that I've given you my attention, and you know it. Don't make me do something that you will regret. Rather let me make you powerful, let me make you fulfilled. Stop denying yourself, you silly Viking._

 _Ever yours,_

 _HRH Freyda Knutson_

 _Oklahoma Queen_

What in the hell was she tripping on? I'd told her in terms that could not possibly be misconstrued that I was not at all interested in her proposals. NOT AT ALL. I shook my head at her apparent stupidity and answered her email:

 _To: Former HRH Freyda,_

 _I have told you, time and again, that I am not the least bit interested in your proposals. I have no interest in becoming your consort, which isn't even an option after the new edicts of The Authority, which means you are no longer a queen, by the way. Even if you were still queen, which I repeat – you are not, I have no interest in either being anyone's consort or in what you think you can offer me. Most importantly, and I can't say it any more plainly than this: I have no interest in_ _ **you**_ _. AT ALL. Is that clear enough for you?_

 _In addition to dissolving all monarchies-including yours, you dolt, The Authority granted all vampires the first amendment right to freedom of speech. With that in mind, I'd like to tell you that to pursue this further is a total delusion on your part. If you pursue this insane suit of yours further, I will be forced to take legal action against you, up to and including going to The Authority about your uninvited and unwanted harassment, and most especially the implicit threat in your email._

 _Once more, let me be perfectly clear: you mean less than nothing to me. Get a fucking clue, you moron._

 _With all disrespect totally intended,_

 _Eric Northman_

 _Still Sheriff of Area 5, Louisiana_

I took a college English composition night class in the 70's. One of the things the professor emphasized was clarity. I read over my email response several times and determined that I couldn't be more clear in answer to Freyda's email. If she pursued me further, she would be doing so at her own peril. Even if The Authority or the U.S. government agents got this message, I didn't care. I could always just say that she had pissed me off… which she had. How dare she send the water fae to capture or kill my beloved, and then turn around and send me this email?

I also knew that this email would undoubtedly piss her off. Good. An angry vampire is a reckless vampire. Reckless vampires make mistakes. Hopefully, this would flush her out, and give me the opportunity to either pursue legal action against her or legitimately end her.

Another email from Raphael indicated that they had no further word on the wandering former queen since this morning's message. I checked the bond with Sookie, and I could discern nothing of concern. I had no sooner had that thought and my phone rang.

"Hello, my Sookie. How was your first commute to work?" I asked.

She giggled, "it felt kind of strange, you know? Usually, I just walk out of the house and into my job, but this morning I joined the millions of workers who have to drive to work. I felt oddly… American."

That made me laugh out loud. "Did you have a good day?"

"I had a very productive day, and I'll tell you all about it when I get home," she replied.

Gods, I loved the sound of that, "I can't wait, my love. See you soon."

"See you soon, my Eric," She replied and hung up.

I closed my eyes for a moment. I'd needed to hear my Sookie's voice after feeling all the aggravation of Freyda. I still had a good amount of time to kill. If this rising earlier became the norm, I'd have to find creative ways to use it. If I could take care of most of my sheriff business and my business business during the daytime, that would leave my nights almost entirely free for Sookie. I shook my head, since this was the only time it had happened, perhaps I was being premature. But it sure would be great…

I putzed around watching television, running my businesses, checking my investments, and anything else I could think of. Finally I asked myself: what would any other man do for his woman when she returned home from work? I thought for a moment and then it came to me, and I set to work. At sunset I ventured upstairs to put the final touches on my plan.

I was in the kitchen when I heard the front door open, and Sookie called out, "honey, I'm home."

Perfect, I chuckled, "in here, dear."

She walked into the kitchen, and I struck my pose in my ascot and smoking jacket with my pipe in hand. She cracked up laughing. I asked, "did you have a good day at work, my dear?"

When she gathered herself, she answered, "why, yes, honey I did."

"Very good. I've prepared your evening martini for you. I know what you need after a long day of work," I handed her the drink.

She took a sip, and her eyes widened in surprise, "this is really good. Where did you get the idea for this little homecoming scenario?"

I waggled my eyebrows and shrugged, "I saw something like it in a movie a long time ago. Only the roles were reversed. Would you like to know what I've prepared for you for dinner?" She almost choked on her drink and raised an eyebrow in question. "Yes, my dear, I've prepared dinner for you. Or rather I ordered it from Papa Sylvan's!" and I lifted the cover, "Voilά, the mudbug platter." She squealed her delight and threw her arms around my neck. I couldn't help the enormous smile that spread across my face.

She then kissed me with such devotion. Afterward, she shook her head, "first, I wake up this morning to find that you had unpacked all my stuff – thank you for that, by the way – then you've researched printers and called The Bonne Chance. And as if that weren't enough, I come home to martinis and my favorite dinner. Better be careful, Mr. Northman, a girl could get spoiled."

"Well prepare yourself, Miss Stackhouse, I intend to totally spoil you," I waggled my eyebrows at her again.

She giggled, "seriously, Eric. I don't expect that. I just want us to truly begin our lives together. Everything before today was just the prologue. Now the actual story of us really begins."

I hugged her to me and ran my hands up and down her back. "The story of us began more than a thousand years ago, my Sookie. It's just taken us this long to find each other."

"A+ for sweet talk," she smiled.

"I mean every word. I feel as if everything I've ever done, ever experienced was leading me to you."

"Class valedictorian, Eric. You say things that make my insides melt."

I looked into her eyes, "Every word, Sookie, I mean every word. This is the beginning of the _rest_ of our story."

I carried her meal to the two candle-lit place settings I'd put on the dining room table, and we sat down as she enjoyed her meal while I nursed a Royalty Blended. We talked about our days, and Sookie showed me her idea for the design and wording of the wedding invitations. I loved it, and she told me all she had to do was send an email to the printers, and the invitations would be ready day after tomorrow. The wedding was underway.

I called Pam and told her about the wedding and Sookie's need for a gown. They set up a date for tomorrow night to go dress shopping. Pam assured me that she would know someplace where Sookie could get the gown of her dreams. I made sure she understood that cost was no object – in other words, Sookie wasn't to see a price tag. Sookie tried to protest, but I just reminded her that I had more than enough to pay for anything she wanted and that it would give me great joy to give her the wedding she wanted.

After Sookie had finished eating, we christened both the dining room and the kitchen in the way that only we could. Afterward, Sookie was most insistent on thoroughly cleaning all of the surfaces for the sake of future hygienic food preparation, whatever that meant. I just laughed as I helped her with this task. Finally we retired to the bed for the evening where we made love again before Sookie succumbed to her slumber.

Once she was sound asleep, I got up and dressed for Fangtasia. I hated to leave Sookie, but I had some sheriff appointments, and Rasul had asked to meet with me before he left for New Orleans in a few days. I'd told Sookie beforehand to call me if she awoke and there was a problem. I'd also instructed Clovache to keep an eye on things while I was gone. As much as I'd love for our house just to be for Sookie and me, I had to admit that having Clovache live with us had its perks.

I pulled into my spot behind Fangtasia, and I noticed the newsvans had returned. That was curious. I got out, but there were minimal camera flashes. The reporters started shouting, "Mr. Northman, will Rasul al Basir be coming in to the club tonight? Where is Rasul as Basir, etc." Ah, I see. They were now here for the new vampire of the hour, Rasul. Excellent. The world would love Rasul once they got to know him a little better. Everyone always did.

"I don't know," I answered. "But if I hear from him, I'll let him know you are asking for him." I smiled and went inside. Well, well, well, I hoped that Rasul was ready to become the very public face of vampires in Louisiana, and because of the way he was appointed to his post, he was also likely to become more important nationally. I was sure he had the charm and polish to pull off just about anything.

I settled at my desk to review the sheriff's appointments I had tonight. After reviewing the applications and petitions, I started pulling together any paperwork I might need to distribute. The office phone rang, and I decided to let them answer it out in the bar so that I could finish pulling together the papers I needed; I always liked to look organized and prepared. There was a knock at my door, "enter," I commanded.

Maxwell Lee poked his head in to inform me that there was a call for me on the club phone. I nodded, and he left. A minute or so later I had finished assembling the papers and picked up the phone, "Northman."

"Viking, it was very rude of you to hang up on me the other night. Did something bad happen?" Fucking Victor. Still fishing for information, two days later. He must really be wondering what happened to the water fae he sent in. Hmmm… so he thinks the attack happened when we were on the phone. Perhaps I had been playing it too innocently in the past. Time to be the Viking.

"Not at all, Victor. Actually, it was something quite good. But I can't help but wonder why you have all this interest in what is going on in my life and in my area lately. It's very suspicious, to say the least." There, noodle on that.

"What do you mean?" Victor asked.

"Don't play stupid, Victor. What are you looking for from me?" I asked.

"I was just trying to finish our conversation from the other day, my friend," he replied.

Of course you were, you asshole. "My bullshit detector is off the charts on that response, Victor. First, you and I haven't talked outside of the occasional summit meeting, ever. Second, I'm hearing from you now with alarming regularity. Finally, you and I are not now, nor have we ever been friends. Fuck, I barely know you, and you sure as hell don't know me. So, I'm asking you point blank, what the fuck do you want, Victor?"

"So much for the reputed southern charm of your area… " Victor responded.

I chuckled, "Felipe said almost exactly the same thing. Why on earth you two would think that southern charm is something that extended to my habits is beyond my imagining. So your lame attempts to shame my manners are laughable. Also, you didn't answer my fucking question."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Victor said, "Just what do you think I'm up to, Viking?"

Clever move, Victor, to go on the offense instead of the defense. That kind of strategic thinking made him a worthy opponent, if a dangerous one. No matter, he would still go down. "I believe I asked you that very question, Victor, and strangely, you have yet to answer it. Which makes me believe you are absolutely up to something. Otherwise, you would have claimed innocence. So… I will ask you one more time: what the fuck to you want?"

Victor chuckled, "is it so hard to believe that I am merely curious about you and your Sookie Stackhouse?"

"Actually, Victor, I find that impossible to believe. Consequently, be warned: I am issuing an area-wide edict that forbids your entry or presence in Area 5 of Louisiana. Further, any vampires who offer you quarter of any type will be in direct violation of this edict and therefore subject to punishment for the offense. Stay out of Louisiana, Victor. You have no power here. I'm tired of your games, and I have established a defensive line against them."

"You can't do that!" he protested, "I haven't done anything…"

Oh, if you only knew how much I already know, Victor. "I can and I will. If you can't answer a simple question, you have no place in my area. Enter the area and you will be caught, you will be apprehended, you will be punished. Am I in any way unclear?"

"I'll report you to… " he hesitated.

"To whom, Victor? To your king? To my queen? Well, I guess you could do that if, in fact, they were still monarchs, which that aren't. To the new Louisiana Vampire Liaison Office Rasul al Basir, my brother? Go ahead and see how far that gets you. So I guess that leaves The Authority. Go ahead and report me to them. I want you to. Please, Victor, please report me to them," I laughed.

"You'll be sorry, Northman," he challenged like a pouting first grader.

I just laughed, "we'll see who's sorry when all is said and done, Madden. Have a nice night," I hung up. Fucker. I was tired of playing around with him, and now the gloves were off. After a few emails and phone calls the edict against Victor Madden in my area, as well as the consequences for breaking it, was spread across the entire area and registered with both Rasul as the VLO and The Authority. I knew that this wouldn't do much to actually stop Victor, or Freyda, but if I had to take any lethal action against them, I had established standing to do so. I wasn't going to fuck around anymore where he was concerned.

With that more or less sorted, I went out into the bar and to my booth to meet with my nightly appointments. I looked around the place and decided that Sookie was right; this place _was_ tawdry. If I didn't know any better, I would assume that whoever owned this joint was a lowlife scum. Did I just miss that before, or was I just now realizing that I was better than this place? Another problem that just presented itself: in lieu of taxes I had area vampires put in time here at the club. After all, no one wants to go to a vampire bar and not see any vampires. But The Authority had just struck down all forms of vampire taxation. I was going to have to start paying vampires to put in appearances. Ah well, I guess there is some consequence to every new freedom. The consequence to me was the need to pay vampires to sit in my club, which I could write off as a business expense. The consequence to the vampires was the additional US government taxable income they would have to report. All in all, not too terrible for any of us.

While I was waiting to begin my appointments, I pulled out the business card for Regina Spenalzo at the jewelry store and left a message that I would like to come in tomorrow night, while Sookie and Pam were dress shopping, to buy wedding rings and bridal jewelry for our wedding. I know Sookie wouldn't expect bridal jewelry, but Fintan would. Plus, it's something I just really wanted to do. I also called Ms. Peveto and invited her to be the reporter who would cover our wedding for the media. She'd earned that right as far as I was concerned. I'd emphasized with her that we were giving her an exclusive, and that we hadn't announced anything to anyone about the date and time yet. She assured me that she could be trusted in this instance, and thanked me profusely for the grant of exclusive coverage.

I was about half-way through my second appointment when I heard the alert signal from my phone. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw a text that the Disco Triplets were spotted at their house in Ruston. I did a mental tsk, tsk, tsk, for the silly vampires. While still listening to the vampires in front of me who were petitioning to open an all night hair and nail salon/spa, I texted Godric about the Ruston situation. We had agreed to meet in ten minutes in my office. I continued listening to the business plan for this salon, granted them my approval, then called over Maxwell Lee and told him that an emergency situation had arisen, and asked him to reschedule the remaining two appointments for two nights hence with my apologies.

A few minutes later Godric met me in my office. I gave him the update, looked up the location of the house on the Internet, and we took off flying for Ruston. The road route to Ruston was about forty miles due east from Bon Temps, and then shift to another highway for another twenty miles due north. It was somewhat shorter as the vampire flies. Godric and I were able to get there in just under thirty minutes, flying directly at a leisurely pace to cover the ninety plus miles it would be to drive the distance from Shreveport through indirect highway exchanges.

We found the house rather easily. It was barely an upgrade from a large shack. This home had a few bedrooms in addition to a living area, kitchen and garage. The first thing I noticed was Malcolm's tacky 60's convertible parked in the garage. And please tell me that was not the music of the BeeGees "Night Fever" blaring from their home stereo system. They really were living their own cliché. Godric and I just looked at each other and silently laughed. I circled wide around the front of the house and saw at least two dead bodies on the floor of the living room where Malcolm and Diane were dancing to the music. I could go in and capture them myself, OR I could turn them over to the human authorities. I had told FBI and Homeland Security I would do that if there were evidence to support an arrest.

I signaled, and Godric and I flew up high over their house so we could talk without being overheard. "I'm going to call our friends from the FBI and Homeland Security. I'll meet them in Ruston and bring them here. Will you stay and watch the house? Let me know if the situation changes?"

Godric nodded, "of course. I think this is a wise plan. It will establish trust with the government."

I nodded and took off for Ruston and made the call. They said they would meet me in an hour and a half. I headed back to make sure that nothing had changed and then flew to the rendezvous point where I eventually met with FBI and Homeland Security. I looked at them and said, "I told you that I would turn these nutjobs over if there were ever any evidence, and we saw dead human bodies inside when we arrived. They do not know we were there. Godric has been keeping an eye on them while I meet with you."

Homeland Security nodded, "we'll take it from here."

I looked at him and FBI and asked, "just the two of you? I don't think so. You'd be dead before you crossed the threshold. Remember that little scenario I described that night in the club… the one with three vampires in the alley? Now factor into that scenario that these vampires are slightly insane and desperate. How are you going to take them down?"

FBI asked, "what do you propose?"

"Godric and I take them down and then you secure them in silver, or whatever anti-vampire gear you have."

FBI pressed, "but there are three of them and only two of you. Won't that be dangerous for you?"

I grinned at him, "there's a reason Godric and I are sheriffs. The oldest of these three vampires is Malcolm who is at most two hundred years old. Diane was made vampire in the 1930's and Liam was made vampire only about thirty or forty years ago. Between Godric and me, we have three thousand plus years." They still looked doubtful, "trust us. Watch and you'll see." They looked at each other and nodded. "Oh, and don't be surprised if we have to get a little… uhmm… rough." The fact that I was smiling broadly at that statement may have disconcerted them a little.

Homeland Security asked, "all right, Sheriff, we'll do it your way. One question though, how did you know they were here?"

I shrugged, "I ordered surveillance on this house after I denied them entrance into the area. I got word tonight that they were here."

Homeland Security chuckled, "and I'll just bet you didn't have to jump through any legal hoops to get that surveillance did you?"

I smiled again, "nope. Is that a problem?"

He shook his head, "not for me." FBI looked less sure, but he eventually nodded his assent.

I began, "all right then. Godric will be going in the back, and Agent Langford will you go with him? Agent Pettigrew and I will go in through the front."

FBI asked, "what about a search warrant or an arrest warrant?"

I looked at him, "you can see two dead bodies on the floor through the front window. Doesn't that constitute … probable cause, is that the correct legal term?" Both agents nodded. "I want you coming in with us so that you can see first-hand all the evidence. If we went in without you, there might be some question about it later on. But make no mistake, these are very dangerous vampires. Stay behind us as much as possible for your own safety. Agreed?" They both nodded. "Let's get into position."

Godric said, "Agent Langford come with me." He then put his arm around FBI's waist and lifted up into the air with him to go behind the house.

Homeland Security whispered, "why are they flying?"

I whispered back, "less noise." I gave them time to get in position and turned to Homeland Security, "ready?" He nodded. I put my arm under his and lifted us to the front porch and landed us as quietly as possible. Placing the agent behind me, I braced my hands on the door frame, and kicked down the door. All three vampires inside turned, dropped fang and hissed. The only other sounds in the room were the song "Staying Alive" and the moaning of a not-yet-dead third human. The irony of the juxtaposition was not lost on me.

"What do you want, Eric?" Malcolm asked. "You know you can't take all three of us, even with that human behind you. Or were you kind enough to bring more food?" All three of them laughed.

"You really are very stupid, aren't you?" I asked. "I brought this agent with me so that he can see first-hand the evidence of your crimes. I'm not going to be the one who arrests you. He is. And then you will have the human legal system dealing with you. I'm pretty sure we're looking at a capital crime here. You know what that means, Malcolm? The death penalty. Or in your case, the true death penalty. Although the idea of a life sentence without the possibility of parole is quite intriguing in your situation as well." I heard Homeland Security chuckle behind me.

Diane decided to chime in, "you think that's funny, asshole? I bet you won't be laughing when I fucking drain you dry."

I smiled, "first you'll have to get through me. Any of you numbnuts feeling lucky?" Liam made a bee-line for the back door, only to be tossed back into the center of the room with his neck broken. That was when Godric and FBI revealed themselves. "Still feeling cocky, Malcolm, Diane?" They just stood there trying to decide what to do. "Agent Pettigrew, we want this to be totally legal, so would you mind informing them of their rights, please."

He nodded, "with pleasure. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right…"

Malcolm interrupted him, "shut up. You ain't arresting nobody."

Diane said, "be quiet, Malcolm. That's Godric behind us."

Malcolm wouldn't relent, "fuck Godric, and fuck you too, Eric. You're going to have to kill me to take me."

Well, that wasn't much of a threat. I shrugged and said simply, "ok." With that he charged me. I grabbed him by his neck, broke it, and threw him on top of Liam.

FBI asked, "are they dead?"

Godric and I chuckled, and I added, "no, we just broke their necks. They'll heal soon enough. Is it your turn now, Diane?" She shook her head and raised her hands in surrender. "Continue with the rights, Agent Pettigrew." He finished reading them their rights and when he asked at the end if they understood those rights, Diane nodded her head vigorously. Good girl. The agents placed the silver restraints on all three vampires. Godric took Liam and I took Malcolm, and we tossed them over our shoulder to bring them out to the transports that would take them to jail. Meanwhile, someone had called for an ambulance for the third human, and the coroner for the two who were dead.

As she was being led out, Diane turned to me and said, "I have some information that you might find valuable, Eric, I mean Sheriff. Do you think you can help me out?"

I looked at her for a moment, and I wondered if she actually had valuable information about Victor Madden. I finally said, "Diane, I'm not the one who is arresting you. But, I will come to visit with you tomorrow night. If you actually have information that would be helpful to me and mine, I'll see what I can do for you. That's the best I can do under these circumstances."

She nodded, "thank you, Sheriff, you won't be sorry." And I had to wonder why it was that every time someone said 'you won't be sorry' that I always ended up being sorry. Ah well…. Wedding planning underway, Disco Triplets handled, points scored with human law enforcement, Victor threatened, and Freyda insulted. All in all, not a bad night.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Many thanks to all who reviewed since last time, as of 9/3/17: Casey8686, ljhjelm49, hummingbirdgrrl, Nicolle1977, jackie69, Jfozz, Duckbutt, VampMad50, scorpiolady68, BRock525, tleel, Asami's clown, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, ciasteczko, bttrflybelle, The Vikings Succubus, FlowerChild23, ericlover69, Guest, fanfictionfan4444

Harvey update: Less than 24 hours after I put up the last chapter we were hammered with a direct hit from Harvey as he came back in from the Gulf. We were already flooded from the outer bands of Harvey's original landfall, and we got a deluge of water _again_. There are entire neighborhoods in my area where the water went up to the roofs of houses. We're OK though. We've had some of our neighbors who weren't as lucky staying with us. There is a nightly curfew, and some food is hard to come by. My sister and I had prepared in advance, so we have food and have shared it. This coming Saturday, 9/9 is the biggest event of the year for my company, and I've lost a week in preparation because the streets were too flooded to get to my office. I've been trying to do as much as I can from home, but there is still much to do. So, this coming week I will not only be playing catch-up, but I will also be traveling to Minneapolis for the event – if the airport is open. In other words, it might be a little longer before the next update. Please be patient with me. We're coming to some good stuff in the story.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – Illuminations

 _Last time:_

 _As she was being led out, Diane turned to me and said, "I have some information that you might find valuable, Eric, I mean Sheriff. Do you think you can help me out?"_

 _I looked at her for a moment, and I wondered if she actually had valuable information about Victor Madden. I finally said, "Diane, I'm not the one who is arresting you. But, I will come to visit with you tomorrow night. If you actually have information that would be helpful to me and mine, I'll see what I can do for you. That's the best I can do under these circumstances."_

 _She nodded, "thank you, Sheriff, you won't be sorry." And I had to wonder why it was that every time someone said 'you won't be sorry' that I always ended up being sorry. Ah well…. Wedding planning underway, Disco Triplets handled, points scored with human law enforcement, Victor threatened, and Freyda insulted. All in all, not a bad night._

Now:

I arrived home just a little before dawn. As I lay waiting for the day to take me, I chuckled at how intolerably boring my life was just a few weeks ago. I would have never had a night filled with so many adventures back then. By the gods, my Sookie was a force of nature, and she didn't even know it. It had been like this almost since the moment I met her, and the pace of events showed no sign of slowing down. And that was just fine by me. I relished in the adventurous nights. Few people understood how boredom was the biggest curse of vampirism. There are numerous recorded incidents of vampires meeting the sun out of sheer boredom. In fact, there have been several times in the past when I thought that Godric was perilously close to joining their ranks. Thankfully he appears to have found something of interest to him with this whole law enforcement idea.

I looked over at my slumbering Sookie. She was so beautiful. I pulled her to me into spooning position. In a way she was right: our story was really just beginning. I couldn't wait to see where we were a few centuries from now. She would only become more spectacular with time. She would grow into her powers and her grace. She was likely to become, well, dazzling over the time period. And she would always be mine. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. Thank you Freya, Frigga, and the Allfather for the blessings you have bestowed on me. I hope to be deserving of them. It was with these prayers that I fell into my day death.

Tuesday, 1:16 p.m.

Eyes pop open, roll out of bed, stretch, grab the remote and swish the mouse; start the day. I looked at the clock. Holy, holy fuck! 1:16? What the what? This was insane! Why was I rising earlier and earlier? Lots of questions and no answers. Just then, my phone rang, "Northman," I answered without looking at who called.

"Eric, are you up?" Sookie asked.

"Apparently," I answered with a chuckle.

"Why are you up so early? Don't you usually sleep longer?"

"Well… usually. But I've been rising earlier the last couple days. It's kind of strange," I answered.

"Uhmmm… do you think… " she hesitated.

"Do I think what, Sookie?"

"Do you think it might have something to do with our bond?" she asked.

"What makes you say that," I was genuinely curious.

"Well… a few things have happened with me in the past two days. Weird things."

"Such as?" I asked.

"Yesterday," she started explaining, "a tree with its roots in a large bucket was on the flat-bed trailer. We were going to use it at a landscaping site. When the truck pulling the trailer moved forward, the tree slipped and started to fall off the flat-bed. And before I knew it, I had moved really, really fast to stop it. And Eric, the tree and root-bucket weighed at least a couple hundred pounds. First of all, I should never been able to get to it as fast as I did, and second, I should have been basically crushed if it fell on me. But I just pushed it back upright onto the trailer as if it were weightless. Don't you think that's strange?"

I thought her question over for a moment, "I know that your having my blood will make you faster and stronger, but this is beyond what I expected." I thought for a moment, "anything else unusual happen?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, "well, one thing… " she hesitated again. "Uhmm, I've been doing a lot of lifting and moving of fairly heavy plants. I should be dead tired. But I feel fresh as a daisy. That's kind of weird, doncha think?"

"So, let me get this straight, you are faster, stronger, and you don't get tired? Have I got it?" I asked.

"Pretty much. What do you think?" she asked.

"I'd say, just off-hand, that you've acquired some vampire traits. That has to be from our bond. Does this new acquisition of skills upset you?"

"Oh my goodness, no. It's pretty darn great," she replied. "Do you think that the bond might be why you are rising earlier?"

"I'm sure of it. There might be more to come for both of us. But it seems that each additional skill just makes us stronger or gives us advantages that we didn't have before. That doesn't sound so bad, does it?" I asked with a grin she couldn't see over the phone.

I could hear the smile in her voice when she asked, "do you think rising earlier gives you an advantage?"

I laughed, "how could it not? I can take care of work earlier and faster. I can handle things in the daytime that I used to have to relegate to my dayman. Most importantly, it frees up more of my night time for you, my love."

"Well I gotta love that, my Eric," she purred with more than a little seduction in her voice. I felt myself go immediately hard.

I chuckled, "and that – right there – may be the downside."

"What are you talking about," she said sounding honestly confused.

"The fact that you can say just one sentence that gives me a raging hard-on, and you won't be home for hours… my love." She laughed merrily. "You don't feel at all guilty for my dilemma, do you?" I asked. She only laughed harder. "I see how you are, you wicked vixen." Again, she laughed at my expense. Gods, I loved playing with this woman, I thought, as I felt myself smiling from ear to ear.

She was chuckling, and then suddenly she wasn't. I listened for a moment to see what was happening. Then she spoke to me, "Eric, I'm going to put you in my pocket because I think you may want to hear this."

"What are you talking about, Sookie?" I asked, but apparently I was already in her pocket… so to speak.

I heard Jason's voice, "howdy, what can I do for you? You looking for some plants or some landscaping?"

I heard a strange voice say, "we're looking for Sookie Stackhouse."

Jason replied, "well, I'm Jason Stackhouse, and this is my sister Sookie."

The strange voice continued, "Miss Stackhouse, I'm very happy to meet you. My name is Garvin Calhoon, and this here is my wife Sue. Do you have a moment for us to talk to you?"

I heard my Sookie's sweet voice ask, "absolutely. Like my brother asked, are you looking for specific plants or for landscaping services?"

"We're not here to talk about plants in any way. We're here to talk about your soul, Miss Stackhouse. Your soul which will be lost forever if you continue to consort with vampires. Let us help you find the light, Miss Stackhouse. Let us help you save your soul. Before it's too late."

There was a pause in the conversation before I heard my Sookie ask, "too late for what, exactly?"

Another pause before, "too late, Miss Stackhouse, for your soul to be saved."

"For my soul to be saved from what?" she asked. I had to appreciate that she sounded genuinely confused, although I knew that she was totally fucking with this FOTS joker.

The female apparently decided to chime in, "from eternal damnation, Miss Stackhouse, from eternal life in the blazing pit of fire, with torment everlasting. Surely you want to avoid that?"

"Ah, I see. And just why are you so sure I need this dire warning?" Sookie asked.

The male, Garvin, spoke, "because Miss Stackhouse, you are trying to tie your soul to a godless bloodsucker. If he were truly worthy of you, why would he leave you alone in the daytime? Because he can't abide God's holy light, that's why. Just look at all the trouble you and your brother have had at the hands of vampires," he concluded with a certain amount of, well, certainty in his voice.

Sookie's voice continued her conciliatory tone, "I see." She paused, I can only assume for dramatic effect, before she continued, "Mr. Calhoon… "

"You may call me Garvin, Miss Stackhouse… "

A slight pause before, "Mr. Calhoon," my Sookie continued, "why do you assume that my fiancé, Eric, is both godless and abhorrent to the light of day?"

Sue answered, "because he's a vampire, Miss Stackhouse… "

I heard Sookie chuckle, "yes, he is. But I know him. He is neither godless nor afraid of the light of day."

Garvin chuckled, "of course he is, Miss Stackhouse, how could he be any other way?"

I could hear the smile in my Sookie's voice when she said, "what if I could prove to you that he is neither? Would you believe it if I could?"

I heard the male chuckling, "how can you possibly prove that, Miss Stackhouse?"

"That's not the point, Mr. Calhoon. I asked if I _could_ prove it, would you believe it? Simple question; what's your answer?"

"I don't believe for one second that you can prove it, but if you could, then yeah, I would believe it,"

"Sue," Sookie asked, "does Garvin go to work during the day… usually?"

"Yes, he does," she answered tentatively.

"So, you don't usually spend your days together, right?" Sookie asked. "This day would be an exception to the norm, right?"

Sue hesitated, "I guess…"

Sookie chuckled, "it's not a trick question, Sue. I just wanted to know your norm. So, when he goes to work, what do you do?"

"I … I take care of the kids and the house."

Sookie continued, "so, it's normal for your husband to be gone during the day, right?"

Sue answered, "yes, but I know that Garvin is awake and working."

Sookied pressed, "and how do you know that, Sue?"

"Because he calls me during the day. He stays in touch with me, even if he can't be with me, unlike your vampire who can't do anything during the day," Sue declared.

"I see," Sookie said again. "So, if I could prove that my vampire and I talk during the day, and stay in touch with each other during the important things in life, would that change how you think about vampires?"

Garvin hooted, "yeah, if you could do that. Which you can't."

"Let's just see about that, shall we," my Sookie said. She must have fished her phone from her pocket. "Eric, are you still there?" she asked, and she must have hit the speakerphone button because I could hear my voice coming back to me.

"Yes, my love. What do you need from me?" I asked.

She apparently turned to explain to the witless humans that we had been on the phone to each other when they arrived. "So you've been listening in since Sue and Garvin arrived, right? Since we were already on the phone with each other?"

"Absolutely, my love. I heard every word."

Sookie continued, "in other words, you are up and functioning during the day, right?"

"Yes, my love, you know that I am," I answered.

Sookie said to the humans, "so part one of your condemnation of my fiance is smashed. He's obviously not afraid of the daytime. Part one of your argument against vampires has just been dismissed."

I could hear Garvin ask, "how….?"

Sookie pressed on, "Eric, are you godless?"

I chuckled, "no, my love, you know how I pray regularly. We've even prayed together."

I heard her voice as she turned to the two humans, "so you see, my fiancé is neither afraid of the day, nor is he godless. So, I gotta ask, what is your point in being here?"

"He's lying, Miss Stackhouse, you know that," Garvin practically shouted.

"I know no such thing, Mr. Calhoon, I know Eric very well, and I don't know you at all. Eric is the vampire who has insured my safety against bad things happening. My fiancé is a very good man who helps people all the time. I've witnessed it personally. To me you are just messing with things you know nothing about. Why would you do something so evil, Mr. Calhoon?" There was a pause before Sookie continued in a sweet voice, "I'll pray for you, Mr. Calhoon. You and your wife. I'll pray that God doesn't punish you for your evil ways of bearing false witness against good people. I'll pray that He doesn't strike you down for being so wicked. In fact, Eric and I will pray together for your souls."

I could hear Sue ask in a sweet, weak voice, "your vampire prays?"

"Yes, Sue, he does. In fact, as he mentioned, he and I have prayed together, especially when Jason was kidnapped. He has helped so many people. He is especially fond of helping sick children. That's why he's such a big supporter of the Caddo Parish Children's Hospital. This past weekend he helped raise thousands of dollars for them. Are these the actions of an evil man?"

Garvin screeched, "you lie!"

Sookie continued, "check the newspaper accounts. He literally helped raise thousands of dollars. I haven't said a word that isn't absolutely true. I'm sorry if that challenges your preconceived prejudices."

Sue asked, "he cares about sick children? A vampire? Why?"

"Because he's a good man, Sue. What you have been taught about vampires is a pack of lies… a pack of lies created by very bad people who don't know what they are talking about. Don't feed into it."

Garvin persisted, "you must come into the light, Miss Stackhouse, you must."

I heard Sookie chuckle again, "and how exactly am I in the dark right now, Mr. Calhoon? It's the middle of the afternoon and here we all are. When exactly am I in all this supposed darkness?"

"At night, Miss Stackhouse, at night, you are in the darkness."

"And what exactly are _you_ in at night, Mr. Calhoon… Mrs. Calhoon?" Sookie asked. "Of course, you are in the darkness of night as well. Now your arguments are just plain silly." She paused for a moment, "have either of you even met a vampire?"

Garvin answered, "of course not. We don't consort with evil beings."

"I see. So, basically you've condemned an entire race of people that you've never even met. Well, if that isn't the very definition of bigotry, I declare I don't know what is!" My Sookie was really working that southern charm.

Garvin tried again, "Miss Stackhouse…"

Sookie interrupted him, "no, Mr. Calhoon, you expect me to break up with my fiancé, whom I love with all my heart, and whom I know from first-hand experience to be a very, very good person, based on the say-so of admitted bigots I've never even met before? Are you high on some drug?" I nearly choked when I heard her add that. "Go spew your shameful hate somewhere else. You give real Christians a bad name, and I'm embarrassed for you."

There was a long silence before I heard Jason's voice, "go on now, go peddle your crazy somewhere else. You heard my sister, and don't bring your false-religion foolishness back here. Unlike your so-called church, this is a _legitimate_ place of business." Gods, but I loved Jason.

A few moments later, I heard from a distance, "you'll be sorry, Miss Stackhouse."

Then I heard Jason, loud and clear, "did you just threaten my sister, you creep? Did you? I've got your names and your license plate, and I'm reporting you to the police." Apparently, Jason pulled his own cell phone out to make a call. "Uncle Des, I want a restraining order against… "

While Jason was talking, Sookie came back on the line, "Eric, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here. Are they gone?" I asked.

"Tails tucked between their legs. Jason's telling Uncle Des, who will get us a restraining order and call the police for us. I think Sheriff Dearborn is tired of hearing from us at this point."

"I know you and Pam are going shopping tonight, and you should be safe, but I want you to take Clovache with you just in case, OK?" I asked.

"I should be home before we go shopping… " she added.

"I know, I just wanted to ask you that now. I'll send Pam a text to let her know about including Clovache. It might seem like overkill, but I want you safe, my Sookie," I insisted.

"OK, whatever you think is best." She chuckled, "those people sure had some nerve. As if a total stranger could walk up to me, and make me break up with my fiancé, just because they asked me to. Did they actually think that would work? There must not be an overabundance of smarts in that church."

"No one ever accused the Fellowship of the Sun of being a brain trust." We both laughed.

"I have to get back to work, Eric. I'll see you when I get home."

"Goodbye until then, my Sookie," I said as we both hung up. I shook my head and chuckled at the stupidity of the FOTS members. Did they actually think that approach would work? Were they just so convinced of their 'rightness' that they thought it would be apparent to anyone they approached? The whole thing just boggled my mind.

I decided to try to use my time wisely. I worked on my businesses, sheriff matters, managed my investments, and best of all, I started the planning for our Venetian honeymoon. While I was at it, I made inquiries into travel into the Amazon. Something for us to look forward to in the future. I really hoped my Sookie found her undiscovered plant and got to name it. But going on safari could be rather tricky for a vampire. It's not like tents and such provide a lot of protection from daylight, no matter what Sookie had just told those nimrods from FOTS.

After that I did internet searches for jewelry on the sites for Chopard, Harry Winston, Lorraine Schwartz, and others. I found a few pieces that I liked for my Sookie and printed them up to take with me to the jewelry store. I chuckled when I thought that I was probably making Ms. Spenalzo's commission quota for the month, if not longer. Then it occurred to me that I could probably save time if I just emailed the pictures straight to her, so I did. I got an email back shortly that told me she would have things waiting for me when I arrived. Excellent. Even though I've apparently been given more time during my days didn't mean I had to waste it. Plus I was curious about what Dianne might have to share with me, so I was a little anxious to meet up with her. I wondered if she might actually spill the beans on Victor Madden. More importantly, would she be able to give me information that could help put an official stop to whatever machinations he had going?

Finally, the sun set, and I emerged from the underground area to prepare for Sookie's evening homecoming. I decided that since having this extra daylight time was apparently a gift of Sookie's blood through our bonding, that she should reap some of the rewards of that time. To that end I had made a few arrangements. I was checking on those when I heard her shout out, "honey, I'm home… " as she came into the house. I had already started the music from _The Sleeping Beauty_ playing through the house sound system. The beautiful flower arrangement I had ordered for her was on the center table in the foyer. "Oh my goodness," I heard her say while she was just inside the door. I greeted her from the living room with a glass of dry red wine, which I had learned that she loved.

"Hello, my love, I hope your day went well," I greeted her, handing her a glass of Malbec. I remembered that was the wine she ordered on our first not-date. "I know you are going shopping with Pam tonight, but we have a little time before that. I thought maybe you might want to take a bath… with me?"

"I actually did want to wash up before I started trying on potential wedding gowns, so your proposition is… agreeable to me," she replied as she looked at me askance and waggled her eyebrows. Gods, but I loved this little tart.

I extended my hand to her and led her to our bathroom, picking up the nearly full wine bottle on the way. When we arrived at the bath, she squealed her delight at the dozens of lit candles I had placed all over the bathroom. "Who knew that a thousand year old Viking vampire could be such a romantic?" she asked.

"Well, you evil wench, you left me in quite the unsatisfied state this afternoon. Did you possibly imagine that I wouldn't seek satisfaction once you got home?" She giggled at my declaration. Good. I took her face in my hands and kissed the hell out of her. After a while I tugged the hem of her black tank top out of her pants and lifted it over her head. She was wearing some sort of sports bra underneath – black and very sexy for some reason. I must have moaned my satisfaction because she gave me an echoing moan in response. She reached up to pull the bra up and over her head, but I stopped her. "I rather like this… thing… so many possibilities…"

She looked at me puzzled. I knelt down and pulled the stretchy material at the top front of the bra down and under her breasts which lifted them up and made them appear even fuller than normal. "Oh, yes…" I whispered just before taking one into my mouth while I massaged the other. From her corresponding moans I could tell that this was pleasing Sookie as well. Win, win. She had her arms on my shoulders with her hands stroking the back of my neck. As I continued to worship her breast with my tongue, she kissed me on my temple, then my cheek, then the side of my neck, but when she put her tongue in my ear, I almost came in my pants. "Gods, Sookie, how can one person be so fucking sexy?" At that she began to softly purr while she continued to work her tongue in my ear. After I had thoroughly adored both breasts I pulled her mouth to mine as I unfastened her pants and pull them off along with her underwear. Meanwhile she grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, leaving my lips only long enough to do so. While we were still kissing, I stood and removed the rest of my clothes. When we were finally both naked, I stepped back just to look at her beautiful body, and I saw her do the same to me. I waggled my eyebrows, "see something you like?" I smiled at her.

"Oh yes…" she purred. And it was her turn to kneel, "since I left you in such an unsatisfied state, let me make amends… " She took me into her mouth for what I was pretty sure was her first blow job. And just like everything else with Sookie, she didn't disappoint. I don't remember when, during her ministrations, I threw my head back and roared, but later she told me I did. I completely believed her.

We finished together in the bathtub, and she had made up for leaving me alone with a hard-on at least three times. By the time we got out and got dressed, Pam was knocking on our front door. Perfect timing. The three of us talked for a while, and presently they were off to look for the perfect wedding dress.

I arrived at the jewelry story, and Ms. Spenalzo was waiting for me. She directed me to the back of the store where she had some of her inventory waiting for me. What a difference between pictures and reality – or maybe there was something special about jewelry store lights – but the sparkle in the store was undeniable. My favorite necklace was from the Harry Winston Heavenly collection. It consisted of a chain of diamonds that looped around the neck and then criss-crossed in the front where two large pear-shaped diamonds hung on the end of each side of the chain. It was simple, yet elegant. Each diamond of the chain part of the necklace was nearly a carat, and the two pear shaped diamonds were almost six carats each. I opted to get Sookie a matching tennis bracelet. I would have liked to have gotten something more elaborate, but I was afraid that anymore than that would overwhelm her. I then picked out two plain platinum wedding bands for us.

Ms. Spenalzo totaled up the order and looked at me hesitantly. I nodded at her, and she said, "The total comes to… " she gulped.

I smiled at her, "yes?"

"The total is $667,512.32." She exhaled a puff of air and just looked at me. Waiting, I suppose, for me to balk at the thirty-two cents.

"OK," I said as I whipped out my American Express black card and handed it to her. A wild and silly giggle escaped her for only a second, and then a look of professionalism returned to her face. She nodded at me and took my card and my purchases to the back of the store. I couldn't help but smirk at her apparent excitement. When she returned with the credit card receipt for me to sign, she also brought the jewelry beautifully boxed for me to take. I thanked her and returned home to place the items in the safe to protect them.

I called Homeland Security to ask if I could possible see Diane, and he said he would arrange for an appointment in about an hour. After that was set up, I drove to the secure warehouse to look in on our water fae prisoner. I looked through the iron bars of the cell, and Tannis didn't look well at all. His skin color had turned ashen gray. I asked the Were guards if he had been fed, and they said yes, but he had eaten very little. They also added that they had been very careful to only give him a little water at a time, and they made sure he swallowed all of it. I started to turn away when I heard Tannis speak.

"You'll never defeat him, you know," he said very weakly.

I turned back to him, "who?"

He started laughing, "take your pick. Now that Brendan knows about the abominations as he calls all hybrids, he'll never stop coming for them until they're dead. And that vampire who hired us, he's building an army. It's just a matter of time. I wouldn't get too attached if I were you." I couldn't help but think of the wedding rings I'd just purchased.

"How much does Brendan know about Sookie and Jason?" I asked.

Tannis shrugged, "not much, only that there are hybrid abominations in the human realm. I don't think he knows yet who they are. But it's only a matter of time until he gets all the information on them."

I filed that away to discuss with Fintan. "And the vampire who hired you, what do you mean he's building an army?"

"He's got dozens, maybe hundreds of vampires who will answer his call. He wants the sky fairies really badly. Especially the girl. Although he wants them both. He knows what they are and what they can do."

"Why are you volunteering this information now, when you fought so hard not to tell us anything before?" I asked.

"Adaris is dead – although that was a good trick to make me think she was alive, and you will never let me return to my children. I'm about to die, too, I can feel it. My body cannot recharge itself without sufficient water. Nothing I'm telling you can hurt my children, and I've had a lot of time to think. I've been really thinking about why we've been taught to hate hybrids. I've been thinking about the unfairness of that. I've been questioning why only pure-blood fairies are acceptable. I've been re-assessing everything I've ever been taught. If not for this teaching and for these beliefs, my Adaris would still be alive. When I go to the Summerlands, I want to go with a clear conscience; you seem to really love your abomination… sorry, hybrid. We attacked you, and you simply defended yourselves. I have honor enough to see that. I cannot say that I wish you well, but… "

"If you were released from here, what would you do?" I asked.

He looked up, "I would gather up my children and get them away from our village before Brendan could stop us. But… if Brendan caught me it would be all over. He would torture me far more than you have for information on the abominations."

"Where would you go… with your children, if you could get them safely away?" I asked.

"I don't know. I have a distant cousin who married into the Earth Fae clan… Or, maybe I'd bring them to this realm. I don't know…"

"Would you teach them not to hate hybrids?" I had to ask.

I could see from his expression that I had gotten his interest, "I would. I would absolutely teach them that. Why? Are you going to help me get them out?"

I thought for a minute, "let me make some inquiries." I turned to the Were next to the cell, "bring me a glass of water." He did so immediately and opened the cell. I walked in, knelt next to Tannis, and held the glass as he drank the entire glass in one try. As if he knew I would want to know, he opened his mouth wide to show that he had swallowed it all. I nodded and left the cell. I turned once more to him, nodded my head and said, "keep yourself alive," and left.

I wondered for a moment why I was considering helping this water fae, and it occurred to me that as unfair as their clan's teaching about hybrids were, it was almost equally unfair to persecute him for beliefs he couldn't help. Almost. When I talked to Fintan about Brendan, I would also talk to him about the possibility of rescuing Tannis' children and bringing them to him. Maybe I would even help them find a safe place to live. I shook my head. Either this was just the right thing to do, or I was going soft in my old age. He _had_ freely just given me some valuable information.

I headed to the Shreveport police station, and walked up to the front desk. I informed the officer at the desk that Homeland Security had arranged for me to see a prisoner being held there. Shortly, Homeland Security walked out from the back and motioned for me to join him. We entered an interrogation room together where Diane in an orange jail jumpsuit was waiting for us. I nodded, "Diane."

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

So, so many thanks for the reviews since the last chapter; they keep me motivated. I'm posting this as I watch HandinHand Hurricane relief on television where people like Robert DeNiro and Barbra Streisand are manning the donation phones. My sister and I were two of the truly, truly lucky ones. After Harvey, entire neighborhoods in my city were flooded up to the roofs of the houses. My sister, who is a veteran of Hurricanes Rita and Ike, knew just how to prepare (I just moved to this area about three years ago). We were spared the loss of our home, and we have been trying to help those who weren't as fortunate through housing and food. Please look for the website HandinHand to donate to help those who have literally lost everything. Thank all of you for your well-wishes. To those who reviewed since last time, your words kept me going, as of 9/12/17: Redheaded bibliophile, Casey8686, Violetsdream, The Vikings Succubus, hummingbirdgrrl, ericlover69, georgiasuzy, VampMad50, Duckbutt, Asami's Clown, fanfictionfan4444, Guest, pnwer, ljhjelm49, tleel, jackie69, grammysharbear, FlowerChild23, Hucki, **Perfecta999 –who happened to post review number 800 – yoo and also hoo!** , babydoll92654, Nicolle1977, MsNorthman, ciasteczko, bttrflybelle, suzymeinen


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39 – Pigs Have Wings

 _Last time:_

 _I headed to the Shreveport police station, and walked up to the front desk. I informed the officer at the desk that Homeland Security had arranged for me to see a prisoner being held there. Shortly, Homeland Security walked out from the back and motioned for me to join him. We entered an interrogation room together where Diane in an orange jail jumpsuit was waiting for us. I nodded, "Diane."_

Now:

"Sheriff, I want you to know…" Diane started.

Homeland Security held up his hand to stop her. "Ms. Johnson, before you say anything I need to read you your rights again, and I need for you to sign an affidavit to that effect. Are you prepared to do that?"

Diane raised an incredulous eyebrow to him, shrugged, and said, "yeah, sure, whatever." Once the formalities were dispensed with, he nodded to her, and she started again, "Sheriff… " she paused and looked at Homeland Security to see if he was going to interrupt her again before she continued. "I have some information that you may find helpful. But first of all, I want you to know that I tried to talk Malcolm out of coming back into the area. If I could have convinced him, we wouldn't be in this mess…"

Homeland Security sat down next to me and said, "yeah, there would just be a few dead bodies in someone else's jurisdiction."

Diane just looked at him for a minute before she continued, "whatever. Anyway, the point is, I tried to keep him from coming back here, but he insisted that we had to."

"Why did he need to be here so badly?" I asked.

"He said he had some work he needed to take care of."

"For whom," I asked. She just shrugged. "Uh huh, so what is this big news you wanted to tell me?"

"Janella is dead."

I just looked at her for a moment before I deadpanned, "no duh."

She looked at me puzzled and asked, "you knew?" I just raised my eyebrow in response. "Then why were you making all that noise about having her present herself?" Then I just raised both eyebrows, and she chuckled, "it was a way to keep us out of your area."

"Ding, ding, ding, got it in one," I responded.

She nodded her head while she continued chuckling, "yeah, I guess if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want us in the area either."

"Is that it? Is that all you had to tell me to try to save yourself?" I asked. Her eyes cut to Homeland Security, and she shrugged. "Well, that wasn't useful information at all." I stood to leave, "enjoy prison, Diane." I waited for a moment for her to add anything else, and then I turned and walked to the door. I was almost out when I heard her say…

"Wait. There is one more thing." Without crossing back to the table, I turned around and faced her waiting. Again, she looked at Homeland Security and asked, "does he need to be in here?"

"It's the new way of things, Diane. Didn't you see the Guardian on TV the other night. We are now fully cooperating with human law enforcement."

She looked surprised, "the Guardian was on television? _The_ Guardian?"

"Indeed. The Authority has struck down all monarchies. They've granted us freedom of speech as well. They've left the sheriff's in place… for now."

Her eyes were enormous as she let that news sink in. "Fuck me," she drawled. Not in this or any other lifetime, I thought. I raised my eyebrow again, waiting for her to tell me the one-more-thing. "There is a vampire who wants your woman and her brother."

Was that it? Was that all she was going to say? "Who?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I can't say, but telling you that is worth something, isn't it?"

"Diane, that's about as illuminating as going to a fortune teller and having them tell you that you are going to meet a tall, dark stranger. It's completely useless information. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." Once again I turned to leave.

"Victor Madden," she blurted.

That stopped me in my tracks, and I smiled as I was facing away from her. I hid my smile as I turned back to her, "go on."

"Malcolm works for Victor sometimes. He'd kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but I'm tired of constantly being in trouble for him."

"You don't work for Victor as well?" She shook her head. "Really? Tell me about the house you own in Bossier City." Her eyes registered her surprise, "you know… the one at 408 Crepe Myrtle. The house that Victor called me from recently."

"How did you… " she hesitated.

I shook my head, "Diane, Diane, Diane, when will you fools learn not to underestimate me?"

At that she chuckled, "I always told Malcolm you weren't as dumb as he claimed you were. 'He's just a stupid Viking barbarian, how smart could he be?' he always says. I tried to tell him over and over not to mess with you, but he's convinced he's smarter than you."

I couldn't help but chuckle back, "smarter than me? Malcolm's not smarter than a third grader."

She laughed out loud, "you got that right."

That made me think, "I've got to ask Diane, if you think so little of Malcolm, why have you stayed with him for so long?"

She snorted, "after being with him for so long, who else is going to want to hang out with me? I don't want to be all alone. I don't think I could survive that." The last sentences were spoken very softly.

I filed that information away and asked, "what do you know about Victor Madden that I should know?"

"He pays Malcolm to keep tabs on you… and all of Louisiana including your queen. But especially you. For some reason Malcolm was really anxious about getting back into your area this time."

"Louisiana no longer has a queen. No state has a king or a queen. As I said, the monarchies were all abolished a couple days ago," I reminded her. "Why especially me? Why especially now?" I knew that she was acting as if this was all on Malcolm, but she knew exactly what was going on. Her attempts to appear more innocent were her negotiating tools, but I decided to allow her to play her little game as long as I was getting information.

She shrugged, "like I said, he wants your woman and her brother."

"I see," I thought for a moment, "so what were all of you looking for a year ago? I hadn't even met Sookie then. The world, for all intents and purposes, hadn't heard of her then. What were you reporting back to Victor about me then? And why?"

"As for why, I don't know. All I do know is that he seems to have a hard-on for knowing about everything you do or say, and everyone you meet."

I mentally chewed on that for a moment. What was Victor up to? I decided to change tactics, "why did he want Sookie and her brother?"

Again, Diane cut her eyes to Homeland Security, which told me that Diane knew exactly why Victor wanted them. Was the fairy question about to rear its head again? "He thinks they are… uhmm… special." She looked directly into my eyes, cut her eyes very quickly to Homeland Security and then back to mine.

I decided to go on the offense, "don't tell me he has bought into that whole fairy fantasy that Sophie Ann was peddling."

That got her attention, and she seemed to be surprised yet again. "It's not true then, they're not fairies? So, I guess they're not telepathic or something either?" I knew Diane knew more than she was letting on. I just gave her a look that said 'are you shitting me?' She cracked up laughing. "Well, I guess the joke is on him. Not only does he believe they are fairies with special powers he can use, he believes they are royal fairies… descended from the Brigant line." She hooted with laughter.

Uh oh, she was spilling a few more beans than I had hoped Homeland Security would hear, even if it was all denied. He was very matter-of-fact when he asked, "why would they're being from the Brigant line matter?" He was so cool with the question that even I believed for a moment that this didn't seem like news to him.

And apparently Diane didn't pick up on his subterfuge either. "He thinks he can form an alliance with the royal house of fae. Have them back him up if he calls on them," she answered him straight-forwardly.

"I see," I said. "Does this imagined fae back up have something to do with this army he's put together?"

She just stared at me for a moment, then said simply, "shit." She just stared down at her hands.

"Come on, Diane. We're finally getting to something that might help you out here. Tell me about Victor's army." I noticed Homeland Security sit forward with the mention of this, which was appropriate since he was from the department of the government tasked with preventing terrorism, and a rogue vampire building an army reeked of terrorism.

"Look, if anyone finds out I talked about that, I'm as good as dead. Truly dead," she whispered.

Homeland Security added, "you get convicted of capital murder, you will be truly dead." I just raised my eyebrows and looked at her, as if to say 'the choice is yours'.

And finally, Diane got smart when she asked, "if I tell you everything I know about what Victor is doing, what do I get in return?"

I said, "Agent Pettigrew, may I talk to you in private?" He stood and we walked into the hall, and down a ways from the door. "Homeland Security would be very interested in this particular vampire. He was the second to the king of Nevada, but he's been plotting something for years. I always thought he was plotting to take the kingdom of Nevada, but now that I know he's been watching _me_ for a long time, I think it is something much, much bigger than that. He's very old school when it comes to how he views humans. Which is to say, he sees them basically as cattle… for food. I just learned earlier tonight about his 'army'. If he's amassed a fighting force, there is no telling what his endgame is."

"Why watch you? How do you fit into his plans?" Homeland Security asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a lot of friends. He either ultimately wants me to join him – and by extension he would get my network of allies, or he sees the need to take me out in order to get what he wants. But Agent Pettigrew, imagine an army of vampires attacking indiscriminately across America… Could there be a bigger threat of terrorism?"

"What do you think he wants?"

"Do you know the term megalomaniac? I think he wants to rule this entire country – not just the vampires. And if he were able to achieve control of the world's largest arsenal, what do you think would happen next?" Homeland Security looked incredulous. I continued, "stranger things have happened. I once watched a warped, stunted painter from Austria rise through the ranks of German government and bring about World War II. There's nothing that I believe to be truly impossible."

"So what are you asking of me, Northman?" he asked.

"What kind of a deal can we make with Diane to get her to spill the beans on Victor Madden? At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, the future of the world of humans could be at stake."

He looked at me and thought very deeply about something before he answered, "I need to make a phone call." I nodded, and he went down the hall. I leaned back against the wall and waited. If Victor Madden was hoping to get the sky fae to back his moves, he must be going for something HUGE. I felt just as I did when I found out that Sookie was a Brigant. Everything just moved up a notch. I leaned my head back against the wall behind me and closed my eyes to tap into the bond with Sookie. She seemed very happy. Good. I always wanted her to be happy. I relished in her happy feelings and let them wash over me. Gods, but I loved this bond. I must have slipped into down time because the next thing I heard was, "Mr. Northman… Mr. Northman?" from Homeland Security. My eyes popped open, and I looked at him. He continued, "I have permission to make a deal with Ms. Johnson in order to get information."

I nodded, and we returned to the interrogation room. Diane had evidently fallen into down time as well because she popped back to alertness. Homeland Security took the lead, "Ms. Johnson, I have arranged a deal for you." Diane looked at me, and I nodded. "In exchange for information on Victor Madden and this vampire army, I have been authorized to offer you safety in the witness protection program. You will be re-located to another part of the country. You will be given a new identity, a home, and financial support. However, if you are not completely forthcoming, or if the information you provide is proven in any way false, you will be yanked back here to Shreveport to stand trial for your crimes. If you are brought back here, no extra protection will be afforded you in the jail or prison system. Do you understand the terms of this deal?"

Diane looked at me with frightened eyes. "Diane," I asked her, "is your maker still alive?" She shook her head. "Is there anyone with whom you share a blood tie or bond?" Again, she shook her head. "So there's no one who would be able to trace you or summon you through the blood?" She nodded. I tilted my head to the side, "then why does this offer seem to frighten you?"

A blood tear rolled down her cheek, "I'll be all alone. I don't know if I can be all alone," she said in a very small voice. "That's why I stayed with a couple of losers like Malcolm and Liam for all these years."

I nodded at her; I'd seen this before with vampires. Some were just no good at solitude. I reached out and took her hands in mine. "Diane, you are being given a new chance at life. You can totally re-invent yourself. You can be the person you've always dreamed of being. Didn't you ever dream of something better than the life you've shared with those two idiots?" She sniffed and nodded. "Well, here's the chance to do that. When you get to your new home, it won't matter one whit what you were before. You'll meet all new people, both human and vampire. Some will like you and some won't; that's the way of the world. You can be a former runway model; you're certainly attractive enough. Or you are a former teacher, or entrepreneur." She tilted her head as she looked at me as another tear rolled down her cheek. "Whatever you want to create about yourself is at your fingertips. Over time, you'll make new friends, maybe even some human ones." She chuckled, and I continued, "you won't be alone forever. Gods, Diane, you're almost a century old. Did you ever think _that_ would happen when you were human?" She chuckled again and shook her head. I went on, "you survived in pre-civil rights, Jim Crow America. Both as a human and a vampire." She snorted and shook her head, this time as if in relief. "You are being given a second miracle. You can do this, Diane."

She took a deep breath and gathered herself. "What do you want to know?" We told her, and she laid it all out for us. She was quick to admit which information she knew for sure, and which she was speculating on. She wanted to honor the deal. After more than three hours of her disclosures, she finally admitted that she was done. Rather than take her back to her cell, Homeland Security arranged to have her taken to a safe house. As she got up to join her safety escorts she turned to me, "Sheriff, in that almost century you mentioned… no one, and I mean no one has ever given me a break. Ever. Thank you."

I nodded to her, "take care, Diane. Make the most of your miracle." I smiled at her. She returned the smile and was escorted away. I turned back to Homeland Security. Directly, FBI joined us. We began to fill him in.

I started, "apparently, a vampire named Victor Madden has amassed an army. A hell of an army."

Homeland Security continued, "he has hundreds, if not thousands of vampires and others mobilized in almost every state."

FBI asked, "others?"

I rubbed my brow. Is this disclosure time? I sighed, "the others… are not human either." They both turned and looked at me. "That's all I'm at liberty to say at the moment."

They both sat in silence for a moment before Homeland Security asked, "are they fairies?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, "absolutely not."

FBI added, "that sounded quite certain, Mr. Northman. So… you know what they are?" Wow, I thought, how did I get the _nice_ one questioning me?

I looked at both of them and thought for a moment, then added, "I need to make a phone call, excuse me for a moment." I walked out into the hall and called Godric to explain my situation in detail. He told me to hold on, while he apparently called The Guardian. After the decades spent planning the Great Vampire Reveal, I was not about to reveal the existence of Weres without permission.

I looked at the clock on the wall, and it was past midnight. Damn. I probably missed Sookie coming home from her wedding gown shopping. A moment later, Godric returned to the line, "Eric, under the circumstances, The Guardian has given his permission for you to share information about Weres. However, you must emphasize the sacred nature of this information." I understood and hung up after Godric told me he was on his way down to the police station.

Before I returned to the interrogation room where the two agents were waiting, I took a moment to call my Sookie. She answered on the third ring, "Hello, my Sookie. Did you find your dream wedding gown?"

She chuckled, "sure did. You were right about Pam knowing where to look." I felt an immense amount of relief.

"Well, I am out on business, and I won't be home for a while. Are you OK?"

"Oh, my Eric, I'm so much better than OK. I found my dream wedding dress. The invitations should arrive tomorrow. And guess what? I'm apparently really getting married next week!"

Her joy was contagious. "I'm sorry I can't be there with you tonight, but I'm truly excited about our wedding, too."

"I can feel that you are. Good luck with your work. I love you, my Eric."

"And I you, my Sookie. Sleep well." We hung up and I walked into the interrogation room. Apparently, I still had a smile on my face.

Homeland Security asked, "what is making you so happy, Mr. Northman?"

I just shook my head, "my lovely fiancé found her wedding dress tonight. The wedding is on for next week…"

FBI smiled and asked, "next week?"

I nodded, "Friday of next week. At the Bonne Chance." I looked at both of them, "hell, you are both invited if you like." I also informed them of Godric's imminent arrival, and Homeland Security called the front desk to arrange for him to be escorted to this room.

They both chuckled before FBI asked, "were you going to tell us about the non-human members of this vampire's army?"

Ah yes. Back on point. "They are Weres. As in Werewolves. It was Weres who kidnapped Jason a few weeks ago."

They both looked at me for a moment before Homeland Security asked, "so, Werewolves are real?"

I nodded, "I've been given permission to tell you about them with the caveat that you respect the right of these people to ultimately reveal themselves as vampires did." I looked at them, "besides, I'll bet that nearly half of the police force of Shreveport… as well as most other police forces are made up of Weres. Police, security, military, and hired thugs are the natural jobs of most Weres. That and construction. Weres are much stronger than humans."

They just stared at me for a minute. Finally Homeland Security leaned forward and asked, "are you telling me that many of the police officers in this building right now are Werewolves?" I just smiled back at him. "Which ones?"

As if I would tell, "their's is not my secret to tell. However, I wanted to let you know about the non-human/non-vampire members of Victor's army, and I got permission to tell you as much as I have. Again, I emphasize that the Were-world is not ready to reveal themselves yet, and I ask you to honor their choice." I could see the wheels turning in Homeland Security's mind. Just then the door to the room opened and Godric walked in. I smiled at him, "as Godric said, nothing has changed except your knowledge that Weres exist. They've always existed."

Just then my phone rang. I looked at it, but I didn't recognize the number. I started to let it go to voice mail, but something just told me I should answer it. "Northman," I said.

"Viking… " I heard on the other end. Are you kidding me? How did he get my cell number? I motioned to the two agents to be quiet and put it on speakerphone as well as record mode. I scribbled on a pad for this call to be traced. FBI quietly handed the note out the door to an officer.

"Victor, how did you get this number?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he answered. I _hated_ when people said that.

"That would be why I asked, asshole," I answered.

"How rude, Viking. Also, I've heard that you really did put out an edict to keep me out of your area. Bad move, Viking, bad move."

"Victor, I simply asked what you were up to, and you refused to answer. You determined the necessity of the edict, not me. So, I ask again, why are you so interested in area five of Louisiana?"

"You have a very efficient and profitable area, one that could be a model for all areas in this country. I only wish to be allies with you and learn your methods," he responded.

I looked at the two agents and Godric and shook my head, "My bullshit meter is off the charts on that answer, Victor. What do you really want?"

"I'm being completely serious, Viking," he paused. "A day is coming, sooner than you think, when it would be a very good idea to be my friend rather than my enemy."

Now we were getting somewhere, "what in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He chuckled, "let's just say that I will soon be in a position to give my friends power. Real power."

I chuckled in return, "what are you planning, Victor? To overthrow the government or something?" I continued chuckling. When I stopped chuckling, I noticed the complete silence on the other end of the line. I looked at Godric and the two agents who seemed to be anxiously awaiting his answer.

Finally, he answered, "stranger things have happened." Both agents eyes got incredibly big. Victor continued, "a change is coming, Viking. You might want to find yourself on the right side of it."

I let a pause hang in the air for a moment before I responded, "That sounds pretty ominous, Victor, what are you talking about?"

"Ally yourself with me, Viking. I'm going to be making some sweeping changes that would go a lot smoother, not to mention more quickly, if I had certain assets, if you know what I mean…"

"I have no idea what you are talking about. What assets?" I asked.

"Really, Viking, is this how you are going to play this? You know very well what assets I'm talking about. The two fairies that got your queen and my king incarcerated. When I think about what I could accomplish if I had a telepath to read everyone's minds and an empath to control their feelings. I could do just about anything. So the question becomes, just what are you intending to do with those assets, now that you have acquired them." Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I haven't acquired any such assets," I answered and tried not to look over at Godric, who had his elbows on the table with his hands clasped up covering his mouth.

Victor chuckled, "all doubt about them was removed when Jason Stackhouse caused an entire pack of Weres to turn against each other in New Mexico. He's one powerful empath." I noticed Homeland Security raise an eyebrow. Victor continued, "I bet he's powerful enough to influence the feelings of vampires. Have you tried to find that out yet? And how clever of you to bond yourself and marry the telepath. Does she even suspect your motives?" Finally his courtship of me made sense. Since I was bonded to Sookie, he needed me. She wouldn't survive if he killed me.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, "I don't know where you are getting your information, Victor, but I'm afraid you are sorely misinformed."

"Oh really? I happen to have their cousin, Hadley. You know, Sophie Ann's little pet. She's informed me all about them, and their grandfather Fintan Brigant. Not only are they fae, they are royal fae. No wonder their powers are so strong. Sadly, Hadley didn't inherit any of her grandfather's powers. That's apparently been a source of conflict with her family for her whole life." My mind was spinning. How was I going to protect Jason and Sookie from Victor's army. How was I going to handle this information with the two agents. Hopefully, Godric had some ideas about that.

Victor continued, "think about what I've said, Viking. The clock is ticking." And with that he hung up.

I just stared at my phone on the table for a moment before I got up and faced the wall with my left forearm against it. What in the hell was I going to say to these agents about Victor's fairy revelations?

Godric was the first to speak, "do you think we got a trace on the call?"

FBI stood and went into the hall to ask. We all stayed in silence until he returned. He said, "he was calling from Little Rock. We dispatched a local FBI team to the location."

FBI sat back down, and Homeland Security said:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,  
"To talk of many things:  
Of shoes-and ships-and sealing-wax-  
Of cabbages-and kings-  
And why the sea is boiling hot-  
And whether pigs have wings."

I looked at him and then over to Godric. Godric nodded. I offered, "you were right about the Stackhouses. They are fae," I whispered. Homeland Security harrumphed. "In my… our defense, we never actually said they weren't. We merely questioned credibility of Sophie Ann and the existence of fairies." Gods, but I hoped this didn't hurt my Sookie in any way. I couldn't bear it if it did. I made a mental note to warn Jason and Sookie as well as Clovache and Batanya. I would also be needing to speak to Fintan soon, both about this and Tannis' children. I really hoped that he wouldn't force Jason and Sookie to the fae realm. I rested my forehead against the wall. This was so, so bad.

Godric asked, "now that you know about the Stackhouses, what are your intentions? They are mostly human after all."

FBI asked, "do they have those powers? Telepathy and empathy?"

Godric answered, "yes." The two agents remained silent for a long time.

I turned to them, "answer Godric's question. What are your intentions?"

It was Homeland Security's turn to chuckle, "well, we can't very well go around arresting beauty queens and quarterbacks for no good reason, now can we?" He shook his head and chuckled some more before adding, "they're so completely American Dream aren't they? And now they are both media darlings as well."

Godric chuckled a little too, "they are genuinely good, hard-working people."

FBI asked, "why are you marrying Miss Stackhouse? Is there some ulterior motive as this Victor declared?"

I shook my head, "gods, no. I love her with all my heart. I've never loved anyone in a thousand years as I love her. She is my whole world now. Victor said that because he assumes that I think as he does."

"Which, by the way, he does not," Godric added.

Homeland Security tilted his head and asked, "Godric, Mr. Northman seems to defer to you regularly. What exactly is the nature of your relationship?"

I looked Godric and shrugged, I added, "Godric is my maker. That, gentlemen, is a closely guarded secret in my world."

"Crap," FBI said. He then reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed Homeland Security a twenty dollar bill. "He bet me a week ago that Godric was your maker." Homeland Security just chuckled. Soon all four of us were chuckling over that.

I sobered quickly, "uhmm, you never really answered my question. What are your intentions toward Jason and Sookie?"

Homeland Security just looked at me and smiled.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

The poem that Agent Pettigrew recites is from "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll, which is in turn from _Alice Through the Looking Glass,_ 1872.

So many thanks to all who reviewed since last time, as of 9/16/17: Nicolle1977, Duckbutt, Casey8686, ljhjelm49, VampMad50, Jfozz, The Vikings Succubus, hummingbirdgrrl, Asami's Clown, ericlover69, fanfictionfan4444, FlowerChild23, grammysharbear2, Guest, pattyfullwood, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, ciasteczko

39 chapters in 7 months and 3 weeks. That's almost 5 chapters a month! Not too bad, if I say so myself, and I apparently just did…


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40 – War Council

 _Last time:_

 _I sobered quickly, "uhmm, you never really answered my question. What are your intentions toward Jason and Sookie?"_

 _Homeland Security just looked at me and smiled._

Now:

"Mr. Northman," Homeland Security began, "my department has known about the possible existence of Weres almost since its inception. There's been more and more evidence pointing to their existence in the last couple years. We've kind of been wondering why they hadn't yet announced their existence. And, we've been dying for some kind of confirmation." I had always wondered if that were so.

Godric nodded, "vampires are organized on a global level. Weres on a pack by pack basis. There's no one authority figure or group for the Weres who is there to say when the time is to have a reveal. I know some who really want to have the reveal sooner rather than later. The Authority, the highest echelon of vampirism has been bringing together pack leaders to try to help them organize."

FBI looked at Homeland Security, "you guys at Homeland Security have known all this time about Weres? Why didn't any of that get shared with other government agencies?"

Homeland Security shrugged, "knowing and proving are two different things." I guess that made sense.

FBI asked, "and fairies?"

Homeland Security chuckled, "that one caught me off-guard when Sophie Ann told me. At first I just thought she was nuts." I couldn't help but think that he was an excellent judge of character. He continued, "but she had so many details about them… I began to wonder." He chuckled some more, "so Jason and Sookie are not only fairies, they're royal fairies?"

I looked at Godric and he nodded so I said, "while Adele is their grandmother, their grandfather is Prince Fintan Brigant, heir to the throne of the sky fae, which makes Jason and Sookie only a quarter or one-eighth fae. The rest of their heritage is all human."

Homeland Security asked, "sky fae?"

Godric answered, "the fae are elemental. There are four main groups: sky, earth, water, and fire fae. The fire fae are also called daemons, but not at all related to the demons mentioned in Christian teachings. Most of the fae are fairly innocuous when it comes to the human race. Except for the water fae. They don't like humans – and by extension they especially _hate_ human/fairy hybrids. They call them abominations."

FBI asked, "abominations? Who, humans or the hybrids?"

"The hybrids," I answered. "They pretty much leave humans totally alone. But their leader has passed a death sentence on all hybrids." The fact that Homeland Security hadn't yet answered my question had not escaped me.

FBI continued, "do they all live among us too?"

It was Godric's turn to chuckle, "oh no. They have their own realm. A different plane of existence." Both agents' eyes went wide. Godric thought for a moment, "A long time ago, many fairies made this earthly realm their home, and they did co-exist with humans; although, they had limited interaction with each other. However, one of the things that fairies are… well, deathly allergic to, for lack of a better expression, is iron. And as humans began to develop more and more iron in the Iron Age and beyond, the fae began retreating to their own realm for their safety. That is one of the reasons that the water fae so dislike humans."

Both agents mentally chewed on those ideas for a moment. Finally, Homeland Security asked, "if the fairies live on another plane, how do they come here? Why do they come here?"

Godric and I chuckled. I answered, "you mean besides the fact that they are tricky fuckers? There are portals… from and into the fae realm. As to why… I'm not entirely sure. It may have to do with the infertility of the fae race as a whole."

Godric added, "it seems that their exposure to iron over the centuries has affected their ability to procreate. Consequently, they venture into the human realm to do just that. Even Prince Fintan's father, Niall Brigant, the ruler of the sky fae, did that to have children."

FBI asked, "so why do the water fae hate hybrids?"

I shook my head, "do not try to apply logic where the fae are concerned." I thought for a moment, "Agents Pettigrew, Langford, we've acted in good faith, and we've been very forthcoming with you about things we have never, NEVER told humans before. Yet you have not answered my question. Just what are your intentions regarding the Stackhouses?" I was tired of them dicking me around. I needed to decide if Jason and Sookie were safe, or was I going to have glamour these two agents? Or worse. I would do everything I could to avoid something as drastic as killing them, but if Sookie were in danger, all bets were off. At the end of my question I had leveled them with a stare that I usually reserved only for very serious business. Very, very serious business.

They were both looking back at me, and FBI, at least, looked a little unnerved by my stare, so I added intensity to it, and he began to squirm. Godric looked back and forth between me and the agents before he said, "Eric, stop it. They will tell us."

"I will stop it when they do," I answered raising an eyebrow to accompany my death stare. FBI's eyes widened.

Homeland Security seemed relatively unaffected by the stare that had humbled many before, and he replied, "relax, Mr. Northman. I have no intention of doing anything about the Stackhouses. As you have mentioned repeatedly, they are the victims. However, I would appreciate you, Godric, and the Stackhouses being forthcoming with any new information that may arise going forward. Especially if that information presents itself in unusual ways." I understood what he meant.

I found that answer somewhat satisfactory, so I looked at FBI. He responded, "I didn't know about any of this supernatural stuff before today. Right now I can't think of any way I would use this information that would be detrimental to Jason and Sookie."

Not nearly good enough; I leaned forward and placed my forearms on the table in front of me and added even more intensity to my stare, "and if you should think of a way to use this information in the future?" I practically whispered the question, never once blinking since I'd started the stare.

FBI sputtered, "that's not what I meant at all. REALLY! I would not… _will not_ do anything to harm the Stackhouses. I swear!" I sat back.

Homeland Security chuckled and put his hand on FBI's arm to calm him down, "wow, Mr. Northman. You went from friendly to terrifying in the blink of an eye. Do you think you could teach me that trick?"

There was a long moment of silence… then Godric and Homeland Security chuckled together, eventually joined by a nervous titter from FBI. Slowly, I let a wicked grin spread across my face. "Welcome to the supernatural world, Agent Langford."

FBI shook his head, "Jesus Christ, you can be really scary when you want to be, Mr. Northman."

I shrugged, "what can I say? It's a gift." These fuckers better be true to their word, or they would die. I hoped I had made that somewhat clear. I would ask Godric about his take on the situation once we left here. It occurred to me that soon Godric would be a part of the 'system'. He and I were setting up our pieces on the larger American chessboard. I smiled internally knowing that he would protect my Sookie.

Godric stood, "gentlemen, if we are done here for now, I think it is time we take our leave." I stood as well and nodded to the agents. Godric and I walked out of the police station.

Once we were well away from the police station, I asked Godric, "do you think Sookie and Jason are really OK?"

Godric tilted his head to the side, "I do. I don't think either of our agents have an agenda we need to worry about."

I shook my head, "but what about Pettigrew. He seemed desperate to prove they were fairies."

Godric smiled, "I think it was more about the not knowing that was driving him. He had just learned something amazing with no way to prove it. Now that his questions have been answered, I think he will relax."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then we take him out," Godric answered. Thank the gods; Godric was still Godric. With that statement, we took to the sky.

While in the air, I asked Godric, "do you know how to get in touch with Fintan?"

He shook his head, "no, I don't. But, of course, Adele does. Why?"

"I need to talk to him as soon as possible. I need to tell him about our exchange with the agents tonight as well as something else that's very important."

Godric nodded, "OK, I'm heading to Bon Temps to see Adele, and I'll tell her." I nodded to him, and he took off.

I flew to Fangtasia. I wanted to check in there, and I had some things I wanted to look up on the computer there. Also, I hadn't seen Rasul in a couple days, and I wanted to see how he was doing. I touched down in the alley beside the bar and walked to the back entrance.

When I got to my office I brought up my internet news feed. Well look at that, the grand jury had indicted Sophie Ann, Andre, Bill, and Lorena. It seemed that all them were now facing criminal trials in the human judicial system. There was a mention that a similar indictment was anticipated for Felipe de Castro in Nevada. If it was the last thing I ever did, I would make sure that the prosecution had enough evidence to assure convictions.

I was cruising the internet for relevant information when there was a knock on my door. "Enter," I said. The door opened without me looking up as I kept looking into the news feeds. Then I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up and saw Rasul looking at me. "Rasul, what can I do for you?"

"Eric, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" he asked.

"Rasul, you are my boss now. You don't need to ask permission," I told him.

He chuckled, "technically, I may be your boss, but you will always be the vampire who saved me. I will always owe you."

I smiled, "I may have helped you out of a terrible situation, but your enduring friendship for the last seven centuries has more than made up for it. In fact…" I turned in my chair, "I wanted to ask if you would stand up with me at my wedding."

He looked puzzled. Good. I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who didn't immediately know what that expression meant. I explained, "according to Sookie, at our wedding, she will have two people who 'stand up' with her, so I need two people to stand up with me, and I want you to be one of them. You will be an official part of the wedding party."

Rasul's eyes widened, "oh Eric, I would be honored. Thank you for including me."

I smiled in return, "of course, my brother. You are a part of my family."

His head twitched to the side, facing the door of my office. He was silent for a moment. When he finally turned to face me, he had a blood tear just under his eye. "Eric… I don't… I have no words… " He exhaled loudly. "I never told you about my family. My human family." I shook my head as the tear rolled down his cheek. "My parents were… they were everything parents should be. They were loving and teaching. Don't mistake, they were also disciplinarians. They wanted to assure we, my brothers and I, would excel at whatever we did." He cleared his throat, "and then there was my wife. She was so lovely… and she gave me three beautiful children, whom I loved more than I can describe." He paused, "as horrible as my maker treated me, the hardest part of becoming a vampire was the loss of my beautiful family." I felt the pain of his loss. More than that, I understood it.

He gathered himself, "I never loved anyone as much as I loved my wife, my Leila. Until now. Eric, I am totally in love with Pamela. She has told me she feels the same. So… I come here to ask your permission for… well, for us to be together."

I thought about losing my Pam, but all I could feel was happiness for her and Rasul. I'd been wondering for a while about what was going on between the two of them, and now it seems they had been seriously falling in love. Who knew? I mentally laughed that falling in love must be somehow be contagious.

It must be a night for my smiles because another one broke across my face, "I couldn't be happier for you, my brother. And if Pam is as happy, all I can say is congratulations!"

An amazingly blinding smile appeared on Rasul's face, "thank you, my brother. I promise to make your child happier than she's ever been. I'd promise to take care of her, but she'd kick my ass if I presumed to make such a promise."

I was happy that Rasul had such a basic understanding of Pam's nature. She would never think that anyone would need to take care of her. She would remove the eyes or throat of anyone who even hinted that she was incapable of taking care of herself. As I always thought, Rasul was very capable in any situation. And if I knew Pamela, and I did, any title that Rasul had mattered very little to her. She would only care for the person, not the title. And to be honest, I couldn't be happier myself that two of my favorite people on the planet had found happiness with each other. I added, "just keep me apprised of any decisions you two make regarding each other." He smiled at me, and we both nodded.

He added, "I'll be leaving for New Orleans tomorrow night. Pam will be coming with me. When is your wedding scheduled for?"

"A week from Friday. Make sure the two of you are back for that, OK?" I stated. "In fact, it would probably be good if you were back a day or so in advance. I'm not quite sure of all the things involved in a human wedding ceremony, but there may be a few things that happen in advance of the actual wedding date." Rasul nodded, and then left my office.

I sighed and thought: one mystery solved. I called Pamela to me. In a moment there was a knock on my office door, "Enter," I called out. Pamela walked in wearing her Fangtasia costume. I knew how much she hated those costumes. "Pam, come on in."

She walked to in front of my desk and looked at me. "I've just spoken to Rasul, and he's told me that the two of you are in love. Is that true?"

She huffed and shifted on her feet, "and if it is?"

I smiled again, "I couldn't be more happy for you, my child. But, I have a favor to ask of you."

She tilted her head to the side, "and that would be?"

"Sookie and I are getting married a week from Friday. I want you to be my Best Man, so to speak. I'd be most happy if you would."

She gasped, "you want me to stand up for you?"

I just looked at her, "Pam, you are my child. I may have fallen in love and want to get married, but you will always be my child. You have a special place in my heart that no one can replace. Will you stand up with me at my wedding?"

She gulped, "Eric, I would be very proud to stand up with you at your wedding. I have to let you know, though, that I am in love with Rasul, and I want to go where he goes. Is that all right with you?"

This was turning into quite the night. "Of course, Pamela. I only want you to be happy. Rasul has already spoken to me about this, and I couldn't be happier for two of my favorite people."

A smile broke across her face, she nodded and walked to the door. She turned back to me, "Eric, I … love you, too. It seems our Sookie has made saps of us all…" And she was gone. AND she was right.

After she left I had a text message on my phone from FBI. Apparently the building that Victor Madden had called from was found empty by the Little Rock FBI team that had been dispatched to it. Hmmmm… Victor was proving either more lucky or more crafty all the time. He was lucky if he had merely left the spot right after the call, or he was crafty if he knew the call was being traced. I hoped he was lucky because if he knew the call was traced it meant he was much more prepared than I was comfortable with. If I were planning to take over the world, I would make sure to know all that was going on.

I thought about that for a moment and concluded that Victor must have a vast network of spies. He most assuredly had spies in my area other than the Disco Triplets. The fact that he was using those wingnuts at all was puzzling. They were complete losers – so why use them? Unless… Ah ha! They were sacrificial lambs, so to speak. Once I caught them, I would assume I had caught his spies in my area. Then his real spies could do their work.

I called Rasul and Pam back to me and told them all that we had discovered. As I was finishing up, Godric walked in to join us. He had alerted The Guardian of Victor Madden's moves and plans as well. Very good. The Authority would work from their end to make sure that a vampire revolution would be curtailed. The four of us would be on the lookout for Victor's spies in our area. He probably had more than one and they could be either vampires or Weres or both. I would also get Raphael working on this as well. This was especially important for Rasul to be on top of. As the newly appointed head of vampires of Louisiana, his regime-for lack of a better expression-was truly at risk. I could see the wheels turning behind his eyes as he calculated the measures he would need to take to shore up his authority.

If Victor had amassed an army as huge as Diane had indicated as well as a massive network of spies, I had to wonder how long he had been planning his coup. Something on this scale would take decades at the very least. How was he able to do this and fly under everyone's radar? He also had an alliance of some sort with the water fae, and he was also hoping to enlist the sky fae through Sookie and Jason. Gods, I had to admire his thoroughness. Whereas, he had probably had decades to prepare for his assault, we had days to figure out how to counter it.

Rasul suggested, "if Victor is being so thorough, maybe we should be as well. While we are on the lookout for Victor's spies, we should recruit to our cause. I can make this the highest priority of my new agenda for Louisiana, but we should be looking outside of the vampire world as well." He thought for a moment, "I know a powerful witch in New Orleans. Perhaps we can recruit from their ranks."

Pam added, "can Mr. Cataliades organize daemons for us?"

I nodded, "good thinking, both of you. I'll contact Cataliades. Meanwhile, I'll see what I can do to get Weres involved."

Godric added, "I was able to talk to Fintan tonight, and I filled him in. He said that he would be able to mobilize an army of sky fae if needed."

I nodded, "will all of this be enough? Victor's army is nationwide, and we are just here in Louisiana."

Godric said, "don't underestimate The Authority or the humans. Victor will be attacking them as well. I feel quite sure that our friends, Pettigrew and Langford, are presently organizing their forces."

We all nodded at Godric's observation. Before long, each of us had agreed to contact certain allies and inform them of the situation, then recruit them to the cause. I looked around at my… war council, because that is what we surely were, and I felt better that we were taking all the steps we could to prevent Victor's planned apocalypse.

Dawn was quickly approaching when I finally finished making all my share of the contacts, and I took to the sky to fly home. I was determined never to spend another night completely away from my Sookie. I made it to our bedroom with only minutes to spare. I quickly stripped and climbed into bed and hugged my Sookie to me. For the first time in hours I felt settled again. In her sleep, Sookie turned in my arms and hugged me back. This… this was what I was willing to go to war for.

12:21 p.m., Wednesday

Eyes popped open, and I looked immediately at the clock. The first thing that struck me was the symmetry of the numbers. Huh. Then a wide smile broke on my face. I rolled out of bed and stretched, swished the mouse, and grabbed the remote. I mused on the idea that if this trend of waking earlier and earlier continued, I might eventually reach a point of no day death at all! I began to wonder just how far this might go. Might I actually be able to go out into the sun? That thought seemed staggering after over a thousand years of never even considering the possibility.

I checked my emails, and I had several responses from the calls and emails I sent out early this morning. We were well on our way to building our own army. I wondered if the government agents had made any progress in this direction. Victor may have built his own army, but how well would it be able to do against a prepared fighting force from the United States government? Especially since vampires could only fight at night. Of course, Victor probably had Weres for daytime battles.

A slight thrill ran through me. It had been eons since I'd actually prepared to go to war. There had been many wars among humans during my long life, but I hadn't really participated in them. But once a warrior, always a warrior, and I was looking forward to bringing Victor Fucking Madden down. I was pretty sure that Fucking was his actual middle name.

After I'd responded to several of the emails, I checked the on-screen cable guide. What was on at this time of day? I scrolled through screen after screen of listings, and I finally settled on something called General Hospital. I watched it for about fifteen minutes then gave up and moved to something called The Talk. I watched that for about ten minutes, and I decided no thank you. Well, it appeared that waking earlier didn't really give me great television choices. It kind of made me relieved that I hadn't really been missing anything all these years. Ultimately, I tuned into one of the movie channels and watched something starring Ingrid Bergman. It played mainly in the background while I attempted to work at my computer.

I opened an interesting email from Raphael which had the background on several vampires in my area. Most interesting was the background information on Clancy who sometimes worked at Fangtasia. Apparently he and Freyda of Oklahoma shared a maker. How he knew such things was a mystery to me; I was just glad he did. So spy suspect number one was Clancy, an utterly forgettable vampire; the perfect way to be a spy. There were probably others as well, but we could start with Clancy and work our way outward from there.

My phone rang, and I answered, "Northman."

"Hello, my Eric, is all well with you?" Sookie asked.

"It is now, my love, and with you?"

"Yes, everything is fine. Ermmm, what time did you wake up today?" she asked.

I chuckled, "12:21. Earliest ever."

I heard her exhale a long breath, "wow, I was right. I thought I felt you waking at that time, but I didn't think I could be right."

"Anything unusual happen today? Any strange customers?" I asked. Victor could send anyone to The Enchanted Forest during the day. I only hoped that the Were employees were up to protecting Jason and Sookie. "How are your Weres working out working for you?"

"I think they really like their jobs. They're learning about plant care and landscaping really fast. One of the younger ones wants to study horticulture and landscaping like Jason did at a two year program in Shreveport. Plus, although we work hard, we try to have a lot of fun while we're working. I think they appreciate that."

"So, no more strangers showed up urging you to break up with your fiancé?" I teased.

"No," she laughed. "But the invitations for the wedding came in on schedule, and they look great! Will you have time to help me address them tonight? They have to get into the mail by tomorrow."

"I'll make time for that, my love. I can't wait to see them." I relished feeling her excitement about the wedding, and to be honest, I was just as excited.

Sookie let out a kind of sweet squeal, "Eric, I can feel how excited you are for the wedding, too! That's so, so great!"

I couldn't help but laugh, "I was just thinking the exact same thing about you, my love."

"Great minds think alike," she giggled.

I chuckled along with her, and then I remembered there was something very important to tell her from the events of last night, "Sookie, I'm going to tell you something, but I don't want you to worry about it. OK?"

"That sounds ominous… what is it?" she asked.

I took a deep, unnecessary breath, "the agents from Homeland Security and FBI now have confirmation that you and Jason are part fae." I heard her gasp, so I hurried on, "however, they reassured me that they have no intention of disturbing your life or bothering you in any way. Trust me, I did my best to make sure of that." There was a really long pause. "Sookie, are you there? Are you all right?"

"Do they know about my telepathy; that Jason is an empath?"

"Yes." I said, and I heard her gasp again. "Sookie, it's fine. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"How…? Oh my God," she said slightly panting. "OK, Eric, I'm going to trust that you will protect us. You haven't let us down so far. Was that why Godric asked Gran for help getting in touch with my granddaddy?"

"It's one of the reasons," I answered. "Did you have fun shopping with Pam last night?" I said, hoping to definitively change the subject.

She sighed before she answered. "Actually, I did. She is a real pro when it comes to shopping. She was really helpful. When I finally found THE gown, we were both one hundred percent agreed."

I closed my eyes as I imagined all the possible beautiful ways my bride would look. No matter what she wore, I was pretty sure the world would never see a more glorious bride. Then I heard her voice…

"Eric, Eric, are you there?" she asked.

I chuckled again, "sorry, Sookie, I got lost in imagining how beautiful you will look as a bride."

She giggled, "A+ for sweet talk."

"I'll see you tonight when you get home, my love," I told her.

"Until then, goodbye, my Eric." And we hung up.

I worked for a while on emails aimed at gathering forces, including one from the Were guards at the warehouse. Apparently, Tannis was eating more and looking better. I guess the idea that he might be reunited with his children had changed the course for him. After a while my burn phone rang from its place in my desk drawer.

"Northman," I answered.

"Northman, this is Raphael… I was going to leave you a message, but apparently you are already up for the day."

"So I am," I responded. "What have you got for me?"

"Former Queen Freyda of Oklahoma is in Little Rock right now. Early this morning, just before sunrise, she made a phone call to this area. It took some fancy trace work, but she called her vampire brother Clancy. They talked for almost twenty minutes."

"Good to know. Is there any way you can put the same kind of surveillance on him that you had on Compton?" I asked.

He chuckled, "absolutely. It will be done before the night is over."

"Thank you. I appreciate your dedication," I told him.

I couldn't believe how much I could get done in a long afternoon, including preparing something special for when my Sookie came home. I had all of my sheriff work totally caught up, except for the two appointments I had to postpone the other night when I had gotten the information about the Disco Triplets in Ruston. I would be making up those appointments tonight at Fangtasia after Sookie went to sleep.

I was just about to tune in to Jeopardy when my phone rang. I looked at it, but I didn't recognize the number. To answer or not to answer, that was the question. Finally, I shrugged and answered, "Northman."

"Hello, Eric. I was very… disappointed when I got your email reply."

Seriously? "Hello, Freyda. To what do I owe the displeasure?"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Thanks so much to all who reviewed since the last posting, as of 9/24/17: Guest, hummingbirdgrrl, AmiraMoll, VampMad50, Jfozz, Asami's clown, ericlover69, Jadajuice, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, SnowMercy, FlowerChild23, imlovinfanfic, peachesgo, The Vikings Succubus, Nicolle1977, ljhjelm49, tleel, ciasteczko, bttrflybelle, pnwer, fanfictiionfan4444, suzymeinen


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41 – Keep Your Enemies Closer

 _Last time:_

 _I was just about to tune in to Jeopardy when my phone rang. I looked at it, but I didn't recognize the number. To answer or not to answer, that was the question. Finally, I shrugged and answered, "Northman."_

" _Hello, Eric. I was very… disappointed when I got your email reply."_

 _Seriously? "Hello, Freyda. To what do I owe the displeasure?"_

Now:

"Are you trying to be witty, Eric?" she asked.

I almost choked as I hit the record function on my phone, "not at all, Freyda, not at all. I really can't believe you had the nerve to call me after the email I sent you. I have to figure you are either completely delusional or a horrible masochist. Which is it?" I typed a quick email to Raphael to trace this call.

There was a long pause, "I'm neither you tease."

My eyebrows went into my hairline at that statement. "Are you kidding me? You think I'm… playing with you?"

"I know you must be. It's the only explanation that makes sense. You're trying to get me to sweeten the deal, you naughty Viking."

So… delusional it is, I thought. Fuck her, now I was in the mood to play, plus I wanted to keep her on the line long enough for a trace. "Well golly gee whiz, Freyda, you've figured out my evil plan. So… just how are you going to sweeten the deal for me?"

She giggled, "I knew it. I told… Never mind. Well, let me see if I can entice you. You won't just be my consort. I will give you the title of Prince Royal. I'll throw in an extra million dollars, AND you can keep your little fairy as your pet. Now what do you say to all that?" She sounded entirely too pleased with herself.

It was all I could do to keep from laughing my ass off. Calling Sookie my fairy was fairly telling. "Wow, Freyda, just wow," was all I managed to say before she cut me off.

"I knew you would like the new terms. So we are in agreement? I can announce our impending marriage?" she said a little too pathetically hopefully.

"That was quite the offer, Freyda. There are just a few flaws in your plan. Three flaws… no, sorry four flaws to be specific."

She giggled again, "tell me what they are, and I will fix them."

I debated the order of the flaws and started, "first of all, I have more money than I could possibly ever spend so I don't need your money."

She gasped but pulled herself together, "don't be ridiculous, Eric, everyone needs more money."

So much for tact, "second, my fairy, as you call her, is actually my bonded."

"Bonded? You bonded with her?" she asked with her vocal confidence deflating a bit.

"Yes, Freyda, I did."

"How dare you bond with her," she declared. How dare I? Really? "Why would you do that?" she asked.

"Not that it is actually any of your business," I started, but she cut me off.

"Of course it's my business. You and I are in marriage negotiations," she huffed.

"We are? I wasn't aware. I thought all the times I answered 'no' to your proposals were pretty definitive," I answered.

"Of course we are in negotiations, silly. Now why would you go and bond with someone else?" she asked.

I just shook my head, "as I was saying, NOT THAT IT'S ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS, but I bonded with her because I love her. Love. A concept you obviously have no familiarity with," I paused while she gasped. "Of course the bonding means that you and I could never consummate any marriage we might have. Third, you can't give me that title. Do you know why?" I didn't wait for her response, "because, you idiot, you are not the queen of Oklahoma. You're not the queen of anything… except the queen of denial… Cleopatra." It was my turn to laugh at that one.

"That's just…"

I cut her off, "and fourth, and perhaps most importantly, I can't stand you. Even a little bit. In fact, I hate you. I think you are a moron. Why on earth would I want to have anything to do with a skanky ho loser like you?" I smiled internally at the use of Lafayette's slang. It seemed so damn appropriate for the situation.

There was a long pause before she added, "so my deal was unsatisfactory to you. You didn't have to call me names to tell me that. What do you want to make this deal happen?"

I closed my eyes. Her idiocy knew no bounds! "Are you serious? I wasn't calling you names to make a point that your offer was insufficient. I was calling you names because I truly, sincerely, and with absolute certainty think you are too stupid to live. How did you ever get to be a queen when you obviously have the IQ of a doorknob. Let me be very clear: I don't like you. I don't want to marry you. Ever. Under any circumstances. None, nada, nil, zilch, goose egg, zero, bupkiss. Even if you could give me a hundred billion dollars and the title of king of the world, I wouldn't want to marry you. Nothing, let me repeat, NOTHING you could offer would ever entice me to marry you. I would rather put a wooden stake through my own heart than marry you. You are disgusting to me." I paused for only a moment, "although I have to admit that your blatant lack of intelligence has provided hours of amusement for me and mine in the past. We've all just sat around laughing our asses off at how utterly clueless you are. Yes, Freyda, you are the running joke of Louisiana Area Five. And many other places that I've shared your idiocy with. In fact, I've recorded this whole conversation just to make the vampires of my area guffaw at your insanity. And your stupidity. Can I make my refusal of your ridiculous proposals any more clear or final? Stop bothering me, you, you, you… fishwife!"

There was a pause on the other end for a moment, "are you mocking me?"

"YES, Freyda, yes, I am most assuredly mocking you. You are so infinitely mockable. I'm mocking you in every way I can think of. Get a clue," I rapped the edge of my phone on the edge of my desk three times, "get a fucking clue at last."

I waited for her response, and she didn't disappoint, "you'll be sorry, Eric. I'll make sure of it."

"So now you are threatening me. Again. Good, Freyda. I'm glad you are threatening me, and I'm glad I recorded our conversation. Do you know why?" I asked.

"Do enlighten me," she responded.

"Because now, I have free reign, pardon the pun, to end you if I ever lay eyes on you again. And Freyda, trust me, I will. And I'll giggle while I do it. Live with that, Freyda, knowing that you have a true death sentence hanging over your head."

"You wouldn't dare," she challenged.

"In a heartbeat, happily, gleefully," I responded.

"Let's just see how smug you are when your little fairy is dead," she threatened.

I stood up from my desk, "you just crossed the line, Freyda. I was going to be content to hope we never crossed paths. But now you've threatened my bonded. As soon as this conversation is over I am issuing a million dollar contract on your life. I'll make sure it is widely known that the contract will apply equally to anyone who offers to help you. Run and hide, Freyda, run and hide. I've had a thousand years to make friends and allies, so I know people in every area in the United States as well as every other country on this globe. I will get immediate updates anywhere you are sighted. There's no rock you can hide under, no cave you can hide in where I won't find you.

"What happens after they find you depends on the status of my bonded. If something untoward happens to her, and someone finds you and brings you to me, I PROMISE you will suffer for centuries. First, I will remove your arms and legs, flay every inch of skin from your body, and seal you in a barrel of brine for a century. Then I'll _begin_ to torture you. I will make any other suffering the earth has ever known pale in comparison to what you will suffer. You will beg me to die many times before I relent. Maybe after a millennium of suffering I'll finally let you die. Maybe. Do you understand me, bitch?" I checked my email, and there was one from Raphael stating the address in Little Rock where Freyda was calling from.

"Eric, I… " she started but I cut her off.

By now I was practically shouting. "You think I'm fucking around here? I know that right now you are calling me from 610 Dixie Boulevard in Little Rock. I'm typing an email to a friend of mine in Little Rock right now. Run and hide, Freyda, run and hide." The phone went dead. Where did she think she was going to go; it was still daylight. True to my word, I sent out the million dollar contract. In case it was ever intercepted by the government, I worded it in such a way that only vampires would know what the endgame was.

A few minutes later, my phone rang again. I looked at the screen; it was Sookie. "Hello, my love. I'm sorry," I said.

There was a slight pause before she said, "what are you sorry for?"

"I know you can feel my feelings, and a little while ago something happened that made me very, very angry."

"More like enraged. Are you OK?" she asked.

"I'm getting there," I confessed.

"Uhm, this doesn't have anything to do with the government agents knowing about me and Jason does it?"

I shook my head; I shouldn't have scared her. "No, my love. Nothing at all to do with that. It was something completely unrelated."

"Ok. I'll be home in just a little while."

"I'll be here," I told her. We both hung up. This bond was taking some adjusting on my part. I'm unused to having anyone besides Pam and Godric having even a clue to my feelings. With them, it didn't matter if I became enraged. In fact, they rather expected it from time to time. But my Sookie wasn't prepared for that at all. I would need to keep that in mind in the future.

By now it was sunset so I headed upstairs to see about Sookie's surprise. I walked to the outdoor kitchen, and Bobby was there over the barbecue pit turning things over with tongs. He stopped when he saw me, and nodded his head. "I'll take it from hear, Bobby. Is there anything I need to know so that I don't ruin this?"

He grinned, "I've timed it so that it should be ready right as she is arriving home, in about an hour. Just use these tongs to turn the meat every ten minutes or so. About twenty minutes before she is due home put the vegetable shish kabobs on and turn them about the same." I nodded that I understood his instructions, and he continued, "this is the sauce for the meat. Use this brush, and every once in a while brush it onto the meat. Do this same for this other marinade for the vegetables. If she eats soon after she arrives home, it should all work out perfectly fine." I looked doubtfully at him for a moment, and he continued, "sir, I don't mind staying if you need me to."

I shook my head. "No, I want Sookie to think I did this for her. I'm pretty sure I can handle this."

He smiled, "very well, sir. I'll leave you to it." He removed his apron and handed it to me. I put it on, and he tied it behind me. "Good luck, sir." And he was gone. I had to chuckle at the thought of barbecue chef Eric. My mind whimsically wandered to a puppet show that I saw on television a few decades ago. One of the puppets was a Swedish Chef who used to hum nonsense while he cooked. I found myself humming his silly melody that always ended in bork bork bork. I was singing along while I was brushing the meat and turning the shish kabobs, complete with the bork bork bork when I heard Sookie giggling. I looked at her and laughed along.

"Hey, I'm the Swedish Chef," I laughed.

Sookie was nearly doubled over with laughter, "I can see and hear that," she managed to squeak out. "What in the blue blazes are you doing?"

"I'm barbecuing for my fiancé. Couldn't you tell?"

"Well, yes. But why?" she asked.

"I wanted to surprise you. I thought you'd eat. Then maybe we'd swim or hit the hot tub," I waggled my eyebrows. "Then I thought I would address all of the wedding invitations for you at vampire speed so that you could mail them tomorrow."

"Will they be legible if you address them at vampire speed?" she asked.

I laughed, "not only will they be legible, they will be addressed in beautiful calligraphy. Your friends and family will think you hired someone to do them." I smirked.

"Why Mr. Northman you have hidden talents. I think I can go along with your plan for the evening." She wrapped her arms around me from behind and put the side of her face on my back, "we are going to have so much fun in our life together. I didn't expect that." Then she sighed. She fucking sighed, and it went straight to my dick. I closed my eyes and threw my head back.

"I always want you to have fun, Sookie. I like to have fun myself, so that works out well, don't you think?" I asked her. We both just laughed together. Finally, the food was done. I let her serve it up for herself while I got a goblet of Royalty Blended. We sat down at the dining table in the outdoor kitchen. There was a nice breeze blowing through as we had our dinner. Before long, Sookie was making her sexy yummy noises, and my dick responded accordingly. I just rubbed my eyes as she finished eating.

When she had eaten her last, I pulled her up and pulled her black tank top over her head. Once again she was wearing one of those black athletic bras, and once again it was sexy as hell, but this time I removed it. I unfastened her olive cargo pants and pulled them down with her underwear. I undressed myself at vamp speed. I grabbed her bridal style and lifted us up and then down into the hot tub. Before long I had rubbed myself all over her while kissing and fucking her thoroughly.

Four orgasms later we pulled ourselves from the hot tub and walked into the dining room. I had towels waiting to dry us off, and we pulled them around ourselves as we sat down to address the invitations. I looked at the invitations, and as Sookie had declared, they were beautiful:

The honor of your presence

is requested at the marriage of

Sookie Stackhouse

to Eric Northman

Friday, the seventh of April

two thousand and seventeen

at half past eight in the evening

at the Grand Ballroom of

The Bonne Chance Hotel and Casino

Bossier City, Louisiana

Reception to follow immediately

in the Grand Ballroom

In lieu of wedding gifts

Please make donations in their honor to the

Caddo Parish Children's Hospital

I loved that Sookie had requested donations to the Children's Hospital in lieu of wedding gifts. We had everything we needed, and anything we didn't have I could easily afford to buy. I understood that it was tradition to give wedding gifts related to domestic life to the couple getting married, but my Sookie had foregone that tradition in favor of charity. She never even asked me about it; she just did it. That just proved how like-minded we were.

After our fun-time in the hot tub, and wrapping up in towels, I settled in the dining room to address the invitations while Sookie cleaned up from our dinner. She presented a complete mailing address list to me, and I set to work at vamp speed. Within twenty minutes I had finished every invitation on her list, and the dishwasher was running in the kitchen. She picked up each invitation and inspected it.

"Wow, Eric, these are really beautiful!" she declared. I smiled because I had spent many, many decades perfecting my calligraphy skills. I looked them over, and I had to agree – they looked great. There were several left unadressed. She noticed my observation, "these are for you to hand out. You said you needed fifty?"

"Yes," I agreed. "These should do nicely for my needs." I felt my heart thrill again; I was getting married! I grabbed her hand, and we began moving to our bedroom.

Sookie laughed, "my goodness. It's so great to feel exactly how excited you are about this."

I laughed, "you know, I could try to be cool about this, but, hell, I'm over a thousand years old. I'm fucking excited to be getting married to the woman of my dreams. I don't care if that makes me a huge dork."

Sookie's face took on a serious look for a moment, and then she said, "I don't think that makes you look like a dork. But singing like the muppets …" She shook her head.

"Shut up," I responded. She burst out laughing.

I laughed with her, and then I thought of Freyda. I needed to tell Sookie about her. "Sookie, I need to tell you something that happened earlier today." I took her hands and pulled her to the sofa in our room.

"Was this when you got so angry?" she asked. My Sookie didn't miss a thing.

I nodded. "There's this vampire. Her name if Freyda, and until The Authority abolished the monarchies, she was the queen of Oklahoma. A few years ago she made several marriage proposals to me which I turned down. She kept trying because she had deluded herself into thinking that I just wanted her to offer me a better deal." Sookie shifted in her seat. "There's absolutely no need to feel jealous of her, my Sookie. She's the last person I would ever want to marry."

"Is she pretty?" she asked.

I shrugged, "I guess. But she's apparently completely insane. I hadn't heard from her in a few years so I thought the matter was behind me. I don't know if she got stirred up again because of all the publicity I've been getting, but she was one of the vampires behind the attack by the water fae." Sookie gasped. "Then she sent me an email a couple days ago still wanting to pursue marriage with me. I replied with an email that contained as many insults as I could cram into one email. Here, you can read the two emails on my computer." I took her hand and led her to my desk and pulled up the two emails in question. Sookie read through them and chuckled a few times while reading my response.

"Well surely she got the message from that," Sookie observed.

"That's what I thought. Until she called me today, and I hit the play button on my phone so that Sookie could hear the conversation between Freyda and me. She gasped several times while listening.

"Holy cow! She's a real piece of work," Sookie said after the recording finished. "How did you know where she was?"

"I emailed my investigator as soon as the conversation started to put a trace on the line. That's one of the reasons I stayed on the phone with her as long as I did. He emailed me back during our conversation. It seems that there are forces gathering in Arkansas. The other vampire who hired the water fae is Victor Madden. He has amassed an army and a network of spies across America. We think he plans to not only take over the vampire world, but possibly the human government of this country as well."

"Oh my God! Do you think he even has a chance?" Sookie asked.

"I hope not. He called me last night when I was meeting with the agents from the FBI and Homeland Security, and I let them listen in on the call. We had just learned of the vastness of his army from another source, and he was trying to recruit me to his side without actually admitting to anything. He wants you and Jason because he thinks your particular skills will give him an advantage of some kind. That is how the agents came to get the confirmation of who, or rather what, you are. They've both sworn that they aren't going to use that information to do anything bad to you. They wouldn't both be walking this earth if they had done otherwise. On this, Godric and I were in agreement."

"Wow, Eric. I don't want anyone killed because of me, OK?" she asked.

"The agents agreed not to pursue you and Jason, so they get to live." I just looked at her.

"And if they hadn't agreed to that?"

"Well since they did, we don't have to worry about that, now do we?" I asked her.

"I mean it, Eric. You can't kill anyone just because they might want to hurt me. Promise me," she insisted.

"I can't make you that promise, Sookie. We don't know what the future holds. Besides, we killed a rather large number of water fae when they attacked your home," I countered.

"That was different; that was actual straight-up self-defense. I'm talking about killing someone just because you don't like what they are saying. That's not self-defense at all."

I thought for a moment, "on this we may have to agree to disagree. I am not human, Sookie, and you can't hold me to entirely human standards." She started to say something else, but I held up my hand so that I could finish, "I will, however, promise not to kill anyone unnecessarily. I mean, come on, I'm not some homicidal maniac. Will that suffice?"

"What about this Freyda freak? Did you actually put out a million dollar contract on her?" she asked. I raised my eyebrow and then nodded. She just shook her head, "she's so nuts, I'd almost give you that one." We both laughed. I pulled her to me and hugged her. "Eric, can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything, my Sookie," I answered.

"Uhmmm… Could you show me how to work your TV/cable remotes?" I pulled back just to look at her. She continued, "what? They're not like what we had back at the farmhouse. I woke up last night after you'd left, and wanted to watch TV, but I couldn't get it to work."

I chuckled, sat down at my desk, pulled her into my lap, and proceeded to show her how everything worked. Soon she was a pro with the remotes.

"You have to go out tonight, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I do, but… I have arranged to have tomorrow night off. If I remember correctly, and I always do, you have Friday mornings off, right?"

She smiled, "that's right. What did you have in mind?"

I smiled in return, "something we haven't been able to do since you moved in. A quiet night at home for both of us. We can watch movies, strip to some of your board games…" She giggled. "We can spend the entire evening in the pool. Whatever my fiancé wants to do."

"That sounds like heaven. You're sure you don't mind just sitting at home?"

"I can't wait! Then on Saturday night I thought we'd have a date night. What do you think?" I asked her.

"That sounds great! You can get away from Fangtasia OK this Saturday?" she asked.

"I'm going to promote Maxwell Lee to manager of the club tonight. Oh! I have some more news for you. It seems that Pamela and Rasul are officially an item. She's going with him to New Orleans tonight while he sets up his regime."

"Shut up! That is so great! I'm very happy for them."

"Pam even used the 'L' word." Sookie slapped her hands to the sides of her face. I continued, "and Pam never does or says anything like that. She said that you've made saps of us all. They'll be back for the wedding though."

She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. The towel she'd been wearing for the last little while came unfastened and slid to the floor. Good towel… I kissed down her neck and to her nipple and sucked. Her breath caught. I turned her fully around on my lap, facing away from me, and brought her down on my waiting erection. I nuzzled the side of her neck while I massaged both her breasts.

"Oh my God, Eric, this feels so good…"

I rocked my hips back and forth and she found her own undulation rhythm with her hands on the desk on the front of her. I resumed licking the side of her neck and bit. It only took a few more undulations before she was coming herself. I continued my rocking and dropped my hand down to the bundle of nerves between her legs and started slowly circling it. A long, low moan issued from her. I sped up my rocking and the circles between her legs, and soon Sookie screamed out her pleasure as I erupted inside her as well. I finally rested my forehead on her shoulder as she threw her head back onto my shoulder. We were both breathing hard.

Sookie whispered, "shower?" I chuckled and scooped her up.

When we finished in the shower, Sookie got dressed for bed, and I got dressed for Fangtasia. I asked her, "do you want me to lay in bed with you until you fall asleep?"

She shook her head, "nah, now that I know how it all works, I think I'm going to watch some television until I fall asleep. After all the good lovin' I've had tonight, it shouldn't take long." I smiled and kissed her. I turned to leave and she added, "have a good night at work, honey." Then she giggled.

I shook my head, "yes, dear." I was still chuckling as I pulled the Corvette down the driveway and headed out. I got to the club and went to my office. I called Maxwell Lee to me, and when he got to my office I notified him of his promotion. He gave me one of his rare smiles at the news. I also gave him an invitation to the wedding and informed him that Fangtasia would be closed that night.

As he was leaving my office Pam and Rasul popped in before they headed out to New Orleans. I gave them a handful of the invitations with a list of people in the city that I wanted to invite. They said they'd deliver them and took off. I made up another list to invite, and put it in a box for Bobby to deliver in the area and as far away as Alexandria to the southeast and Dallas to the west.

After that was taken care of, I grabbed the files for the two appointments that had been postponed from Monday night. I took a few of the invitations with me because there were vampires in the club that I wanted to invite. I settled into my booth and summoned Francois to me. He came over and I offered him a seat in the booth.

"How's the throne duty going?" I asked.

He chuckled, "it is a fine way to observe some of the absurd things that go on in here."

I chuckled too, "tell me about it. Don't you find it boring?"

"Not yet. However, I have started loading books onto my phone, and when things slow down I read." He shrugged, "I try to make it look like I'm just taking care of business, and I look up at the crowd often, but I've done a lot of reading up there." He chuckled.

"Whatever works. I wanted to invite you to my wedding." I passed him an invitation which he opened and read. "We're closing Fangtasia for the night, so you'll be free to come."

"I would be honored to be there; I look forward to it," he replied.

"Very good." Just then I noticed Clancy was working the door, and I had an idea. "Francois, I'm not inviting all of the vampires who work here, so I would prefer you to keep the wedding to yourself, if you don't mind."

"Of course. I'll return to my throne now." I nodded and he left.

I called Maxwell Lee to me again. I also told him to keep the wedding to himself. Then I told him, "I'm going to promote Clancy into your old position, but I believe him to be a spy for my enemies. I want you to keep an eye on him for me."

Maxwell Lee smiled, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"

"Exactly. However, I especially don't want him to know about the wedding. So we won't announce the closing of Fangtasia until Thursday at closing time. Tell everyone, that even though we will be closed on Friday night, that they will still be paid. I'm going to send Clancy on an out-of-town task for next Thursday and Friday." Maxwell Lee nodded. "Ask him to come over here please."

While I was waiting for Clancy to arrive, I sent off a text to Pam about all that I was currently doing here. She simply responded, "Good." I felt I owed her the information; she was still co-owner of the club even if she might not still be its manager. Clancy arrived just as I was finishing up the communication with Pam, and he stood patiently at the end of the booth until summoned to do otherwise. Finally, I looked up and said, "Clancy, please have a seat." He did. "How do you like working here? I mean you've been here – what? – about three years, right?"

He nodded, "I'm pretty satisfied to work here. I think I could be doing more."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Pamela will be spending most of her time for the foreseeable future working with Rasul in his capacity as Louisiana Vampire Liaison Officer, so I'm making a few changes here at Fangtasia. While Pam will still be co-owner, she will no longer have time to be the manager, so I've promoted Maxwell Lee to that position. That leaves his position open as Assistant Manager, and I would like to offer that to you with the appropriate change in salary."

He tilted his head to me and smiled, "that would be great, thank you Sheriff."

"Excellent. Maxwell Lee will be your direct supervisor, and then you will be over the rest of the vampires who work here. Except Francois, of course."

He turned and looked at Francois on the throne and then appeared puzzled, "why not Francois?"

"Because I've said so. Is that a problem?"

He quickly shook his head, "no sir, I just wondered."

I nodded, "Francois answers only to me… for the record."

"I see," Clancy responded.

"Maxwell Lee will inform you more about your new duties. Do you have any questions for me?" I asked.

He shook his head, "no sir, I'll do my best to show that I deserve your trust."

Good little spy, I thought. "Very well. You may return to work." By now, Raphael should have all the surveillance equipment in place for Clancy. I smiled as I was formulating a plan of just how to use him to my best advantage. Enemies closer, indeed.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Many, many thanks to all who reviewed since the last chapter, as of 9/28/17: princessspot5, ljhjelm49, Asami's clown, Casey8686, ciasteczko, Jfozz, hummingbirdgrrl, VampMad50, monsterakers, fanfictionfan4444, bttrflybelle, FlowerChild23, Duckbutt, Nicolle1977, Perfecta999, MsNorthman, ericlover69, pnwer, jackie69


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42 – An Almost Full Day

 _Last time:_

" _Maxwell Lee will inform you more about your new duties. Do you have any questions for me?" I asked._

 _He shook his head, "no sir, I'll do my best to show that I deserve your trust."_

 _Good little spy, I thought. "Very well. You may return to work." By now, Raphael should have all the surveillance equipment in place for Clancy. I smiled as I was formulating a plan of just how to use him to my best advantage. Enemies closer, indeed._

Now:

After Clancy returned to his duties, I summoned Francois once more. When he got to the table, I told him, "Francois, I have just promoted Clancy to Assistant Manager." Francois tilted his head to the side in question. No doubt, he was wondering why I was informing him of this since he had very little to do with the management of the club. I continued, "I know that he is a spy for my enemies, and Maxwell Lee, who I've just made manager, knows this as well. He will be keeping an eye on Clancy, but I would like for you to befriend him."

"May I ask why?"

"He reacted strangely when I informed him that he was not your supervisor, and that you only answered to me. As he is searching for information to use against me, I think he will surmise that you and I are friends. He will probably make the first overtures of friendship to you. Probably under the guise that you must be lonely since you are still new to town. I'm asking you to be open to those overtures. Then we can feed him all manner of false information. However, more than anyone else, I don't want him to know about my upcoming wedding."

Francois thought over all of this new information and smiled. Then he reached over and clasped me on the shoulder, "I believe you are correct about him. He is watching us right now." I smiled and nodded. Francois continued, "of course, you will be providing me with the false information?"

I opened one of the files for my upcoming appointments and pointed to a page that was meaningless to Francois, nodded and said, "I will." He played along and seemed very interested in the small map of Caddo Parish, nodding and pointing at it himself. To Clancy, this would look like I was sharing something important.

Finally he asked, "how much of our true relationship should I share?"

I thought it over, "as much as you are comfortable with. You can tell him how we met, how we've been friends for centuries, maybe some of our joint adventures. I always find that the truth can usually work in your favor. As a spy, he will be much more interested in the here and now, but our background relationship will give credence to whatever you share with him."

"What is in the here and now that you want me to share with him?"

I thought for a minute letting a number of possible scenarios run through my brain, and it came to me, "I want you to tell him that secretly I'm upset with Rasul. Two reasons, first: I believe I was passed over to be the Vampire Liaison Officer of Louisiana. Second: he's taking my child away from me. Of course don't offer these things up right away. That would be suspicious."

"Of course." Francois thought for a moment, "is any of that true?"

"Gods, no. I couldn't be more thrilled for Rasul and Pam, on both counts. I never wanted that job. However, my enemies will think I will be easy to sway to their side with this information. That way, I will be able to get information on and about them." I made a mental note to inform Rasul, Pam, Godric, and Sookie of this tactic. I wouldn't want them to hear that information and believe it to be true. When Victor approached me to persuade me to join him because of being slighted by The Authority, it would confirm that Clancy was a spy. It should also help me discover who any other spies were.

Francois shook his head and laughed, "NOW, this job just became very interesting. I'll keep you apprised of what happens." I smiled as he rose to return to the throne.

Shortly after that my phone rang. I was surprised to hear Fintan on the other end. I arranged to meet him at the warehouse where we held Tannis later.

I quickly handled my two appointments. I then left to go to the warehouse to visit Fintan and Tannis. I met with Fintan just outside of the facility to talk in private first.

"I think you should know that the American government agents now know about Jason and Sookie," I started.

His eyes widened, "what do you mean 'know about'?"

"Those two agents from the FBI and Homeland Security know that Jason and Sookie are part fae, and that they are telepathic and empathic." Before he could get upset, I hurried on, "Godric and I have been assured by them that they will not pursue Jason and Sookie. This all came about because they were with me when we all found out that the vampire Victor Madden, who has somehow secretly managed to amass a huge fighting force, is about to start a war with both the vampire and human worlds. He wants Jason and Sookie because he thinks their skills will help him take over the country."

Fintan snorted, "really? Because that's so easy to do. This is the same vampire who sent the water fae? The one you called about for fighters?" I nodded. He paced a little, "what assurances did the government agents give you regarding the safety of my grandchildren?"

"They gave their words. Godric and I were satisfied. They would not still be living if we weren't," I confessed.

Fintan mulled that over. "I hope you are right, Eric. If anything should happen…"

I cut him off, "I know, I know, I know… You will hold me responsible."

He chuckled, "as ever. Is that the only reason you called me here?"

I shook my head, "no. There is a very important matter I would like your help with. Our water fae prisoner and I have been talking. He's come to believe that he's been wrong in thinking that hybrids are abominations. If he could have his children brought to him, he wants to teach them this as well, and then live away from the water fae. Do you have any resources that could rescue his children?"

Fintan seemed genuinely surprised, "you would do this for him?"

I nodded, "it turns out that being in that attack on the Stackhouse home was not his or his wife's choice. They were forced to be there." I thought for a moment, "I know this doesn't exactly fit with my blood-thirsty reputation, but there are three things at work for me in this decision. One, how he was raised, indoctrinated if you will, was not his fault, and he's learned to regret those beliefs. Two, he was forced into the situation and lost his wife in the process. And three, he could provide a vast amount of intel on the water fae."

At the last statement Fintan finally smiled. "I will talk to him and listen in on his thoughts. If he is being sincere in his responses, I will see what I can do."

"Fair enough," I responded. "Oh, by the way, you do know that Sookie and I are getting married a week from Friday, right?"

At that he smiled broadly, "of course. Who do you think will be giving the bride away?" I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but I accepted it as something good. "I do hope my granddaughter's wedding jewels will be worthy of her status."

I laughed, "oh yes. They are already in my safe at home as we speak."

Fintan nodded, "very good. Let's go speak with Tannis, shall we?" He stretched his hand toward the door for me to lead the way. We walked into the cell area, and Tannis stood up. Even though he was still pretty much wrapped in iron chains, he looked a lot better than the last time I'd seen him. I'd gotten reports from the Weres that he had been eating better. A little hope apparently went a long way. When he saw Fintan behind me, he shrinked back to the rear of the cell in fear. Even the Were guards seemed to all take a step back. After what they had witnessed of Fintan's interrogation techniques, it was not surprising.

"Relax. He's not here to interrogate you, but he does have a few questions for you." I stepped aside for Fintan to move forward.

Tannis just stared at Fintan. Finally Fintan spoke, "I understand that you've had a change of heart with regards to abominations. Is this true?" Tannis nodded. A few moments of silence followed while I assumed that Fintan was listening in to Tannis' thoughts. Fintan continued, "is it also true, that if we rescue your children and bring them to you, that you will teach them this new way of thinking?" Again, Tannis nodded, followed by silence. "Very well. I will see what I can do." He then turned to me, "I am satisfied of his repentence and sincerity. I will try to locate his children."

I heard Tannis let out a loud exhale. "Thank you… your highness."

Fintan turned to him and said, "don't thank me yet. I still have to locate your children, and then have them brought out of water fae territory. Difficult, but not impossible. I will set things in motion immediately." Tannis nodded and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

I told the Were guards to remove the mass of iron chains surrounding Tannis and leave only one ankle iron. They were warned to continue to be careful about water, though. There was trust, and then there was recklessness.

I checked the time, and there was still three hours until dawn. I was going to go ahead and call it a night and head home to my beautiful fiancé. Since she'd moved in, I had barely made it home by dawn each night. Tonight I would be able to watch her sleep.

When I walked through my front door, Clovache was sitting in the front living room. I looked at her and asked, "is all well?"

She nodded. "I was just waiting until you got home."

"I see," I answered. "Do you do this every night?" She nodded. "Do you even need to eat and sleep?"

She smirked, "Britlingens can go a few weeks without sleeping, but eventually we will need a few hours. I usually catch some sleep right after Sookie comes home, and the two of you are together. It is more than enough. I eat during the day when she eats, usually what she eats. It is also enough. Sometimes at night, when I am guarding, I will also grab something from the kitchen." She shrugged.

I nodded in understanding, "do you ever wish to… I don't know… have some time off? Some time to do what you want to do?"

She chuckled, "early on, Sookie asked me the same questions, including that one. I explained that someday I will have all the time to myself that I want. Britlingens are immortal if they aren't killed, as Batanya nearly was. And we train very extensively to assure our immortality. We give a century of service to the Britlingen Collective, and then we can retire and do whatever we want. However, most find retirement boring, and after a while sign up for an additional century of service. Some even alternate – a century of service for a century of relaxation, then begin again."

I never knew all that. "Where are you on this… Britlingen service time-line?"

She smiled, "I am on my third century of service. I've only taken about twenty-thirty years in between the centuries of service. As it turns out, there's not a lot to do in Britlingen. I think that must be by design."

I laughed, "well, I'm home for the evening if you'd like to retire."

She nodded, "as you wish, thank you." She then went up the stairs to her room.

Life in Britlingen must be very boring indeed. Either that or Britlingens just lacked personality. Maybe it was the combination of the two.

I got down to our quarters below the first floor, and I just looked at my beautiful soon-to-be wife as she slept. I could just stand and watch her sleep for hours. She was half-way between being on her side and on her stomach with her hand resting on my pillow. Her hair was splayed out behind her on her pillow like the tail of a comet, and her lips were slightly parted. Her face looked totally at peace. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath while I offered up yet another prayer to Freya and the All Father for blessing me with this goddess.

There were certainly some tricky players in motion right now, but I knew that Sookie and I would come through this. I took a moment to wonder if our friends in the government had any luck tracking down Victor Madden or his army. I also wondered what the American government was preparing to do to counter any offensive that Victor might launch. Right now, Victor thought he had the element of surprise on his side. But I was sure that among Homeland Security, the FBI, the CIA, and other government agencies, that surprise was now the least of his advantages since Diane had provided a wealth of information.

Presently, I pulled myself out of my Sookie-induced stupor. I took off my clothes, but thought I would check my email before bed. There were some interesting developments reported in several emails. Apparently Clancy had wasted no time in befriending Francois. The two of them were hanging out right at that moment. Excellent. I had no doubt that in Francois' capable hands that poor Clancy would be "as tenderly led by the nose as asses are", to quote Mr. Shakespeare.

Next, I had an email from a friend in Little Rock. The house at 610 Dixie Boulevard was empty when he got there. However, a friend of his had seen her boarding a plane headed to Baltimore at the Anubis gates at the airport. I quickly sent emails to several friends in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. They were an hour ahead of us, so Freyda would probably need to take shelter quickly when she arrived. I wanted to capture this bitch sooner rather than later. I neither knew nor cared how she fit into Victor's plans. No one threatened to kill my bonded and lived. She'd fucked with the wrong vampire, and her days were numbered.

Finally, I had an email from Godric telling me that he had been working with our friends, agents Pettigrew and Langford, and that the clandestine forces in America were mobilizing. Very, very good. I hoped that Victor Madden was in for the surprise of his undead life.

I took a moment to send emails to Godric, Rasul, and Pam to let them know about my plan with Clancy. I wouldn't want any of them, especially Rasul to think I was actually upset with him.

After that, I joined my Sookie in bed, and pulled her to me. When she was once again firmly in my arms, she let out a long, sexy sigh in her sleep. It was torture to do it, but I let her continue sleeping. We had the whole night tomorrow night. It was with that thought that I fell into my day death with a smile on my face.

11:46 a.m. Thursday

Eyes pop open, I look immediately at the clock. What?! I'm rising now in the a.m.? Fuck me… Roll out of bed and stretch, grab the remote, swish the mouse… Start the day!

I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I reminded myself again that if I were going to be rising this early, I'd need to figure out how to fill me daylight hours. I scrolled through the on-screen cable guide. Crap, crap, and more crap. What's this? A show called _Four Weddings_ followed by _Say Yes to the Dress._ Was this an entire network dedicated to weddings? I thought this might be really educational. Apparently the first show was a competition among four brides to put on the best wedding. They would have bizarre things like circus performers or belly dancers at their receptions to try to win their dream honeymoon. The idea was that each bride would attend the other bride's weddings and then trash elements of the weddings on camera.

The other show was a little less cutthroat. It was about brides trying to find the perfect wedding dress at a very expensive wedding dress store, but getting terrible advice from their parents or their siblings or their future in-laws, or from someone who meant a lot in their lives, or whoever the show could scrounge up to insult every dress the prospective bride tried on. And the prices of these dresses! I have a lot of money, but many of these dresses cost more than new cars!

These programs weren't as educational as I had hoped, but at least I had learned what it meant 'to give the bride away', and Fintan's statement the night before made more sense. I also learned that the following things were traditions included in weddings: flowers, lots and lots and lots of them; a monstrosity of a cake; tossing bouquets and garters to humiliated single people; a sit-down meal; really horrible dresses for the bride's friends; toasts from the best man and maid of honor; special dances with the father/bride, mother/groom – that one I'd have to think on; and the throwing of rice or bird seed at the bride and groom when they departed which seemed kind of cruel.

There were also all the people you had to hire for the wedding: the wedding planner, the photographer, the videographer, the baker, the chef/caterer, the musicians for the wedding AND the musicians for the reception, to name but a few. Was my Sookie handling all of this? Was she paying for all this? By herself? No wonder she wanted more time for the wedding. I would need to talk to her about all this tonight. Especially since the wedding was a week from tomorrow. I shook my head, wondering for the first time if I'd survive this wedding.

I decided to check my emails, and I had an interesting coded one from Godric who was still working with the agents to counter Victor Madden's lunacy. I say it was coded, it was written phonetically in Old Norse (which had never had a written form) using the Cyrillic alphabet. No one else on earth would be able to interpret that. He related that the day for Victor's plans to come to fruition was coming sooner rather than later, and there was a code that would be launched by him to all his forces in all their locations. Each location had a plan of attack, and the idea was to cripple the American power, communications, and internet infrastructure, and then to launch an offensive to 'capture' most of America's major cities. Once the major cities were subdued, Victor's forces would then spread to surrounding smaller cities and towns. It was a pretty solid plan, especially if no one had ever caught wind of it.

This was all discovered by capturing one of Victor's strongholds in Minnesota without alerting Victor. Agents of the government were still operating at the site as if they were Victor's minions. With their foot in the door there, they were able to ascertain and monitor all of Victor's plans and actions, and then set plans of their own into play. I was guessing that SEAL teams and Special Forces were being secretly dispatched throughout the country. According to Godric's email, troops from the National Guard were being surreptitiously maneuvered to Washington DC to protect the three branches of federal government. The powers that be believed that Victor's intelligence gathering team would be less likely to notice or worry about movements of the National Guard than the US Army, if they became aware of the movements. Meanwhile, US Navy Air Carriers were also being surreptitiously maneuvered onto the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. Wow, just wow that was a lot of secret preparation. I just hoped it was enough. And that it remained secret.

Even with all this preparation, it felt like something enormous was barreling our way. And I wasn't even thinking about my wedding. Although that felt pretty enormous at this point, too. It occurred to me that vampires could also help fight against Victor's army. The problem was - which vampires to trust. I sent a return email to Godric suggesting that we put together a strategy to immediately notify the vampire world once the attacks began. That way, we didn't have to warn ahead of time and risk arousing Victor's suspicion. The call to action would need to come from The Authority down through each state's Liaison Officer and Sheriffs. I laid out the details, and he thought it was a good idea that he would relay to Roman.

This was a very good idea. Because of the actions of Sophie Ann and Felipe de Castro, the public perception of vampires had taken quite a hit lately, even with a little bit of good publicity. When it became public knowledge of Victor's plans and attacks, humans would be out for blood. I emphasized this to Godric. Action on the part of the vampire world against Victor wasn't just a good idea; it was essential to our very survival. Right now I was stuck just playing a waiting game. For someone who theoretically had all the time in the world, I was terrible at waiting. Ah well…

I took care of business, both personal and Sheriff. Finally, my phone rang; it was Sookie, "hello, my love."

"Around 11:45, right?" she asked.

I chuckled, "11:46 to be specific. Pretty cool, eh?"

"Wow, Eric. What are you finding to do with yourself?"

"That's the tricky part. I don't really know what to do with myself. Today I watched some television programs about weddings. A lot of the rituals and traditions were unfamiliar to me. Why do the guests at the wedding assault the bride and groom with rice or bird seed?"

She giggled, "to tell you the truth, I don't really know. And the guests are supposed to toss it in the air over their heads, not throw it directly at them. It used to be only rice, but birds who ate the rice would swell up and be sick or die, so it's been changed to bird seed. It probably has something to do with luck or fertility."

"OK, if you say so. There were a lot of other things like the big, ugly cake, lots of people to hire, etc. Are we doing all that?" I asked.

She laughed again, "yes to the cake, no to all the people you hire. Well, I have hired a photographer and a band for the reception. But the hotel is doing the catering and Jason is putting together the flowers and greenery. My grandfather is supplying the musicians for the actual wedding."

That surprised me, "Fintan is providing the wedding musicians? Are they fairies?"

"Of course. He said they play beautifully. They will be spelled to contain their scent so we don't have to worry about a vampire frenzy. All fairies in attendance will be similarly spelled. I'm actually very excited about including them. It's part of my heritage," she said.

"How are you going to explain the fairies to all of your human guests?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not. I don't care what they think. They'll probably rationalize that it's some theatrical theme I've put together for the wedding. I mean, my fairy relatives came to my high school and college graduations, and nobody said a word."

"I didn't realize you were close to your fairy relatives, other than your grandfather," I added.

"Of course, I am. They're my family. I've even spent time in Fae with them," she said.

"You've been to Fae?" I asked.

"Well, yes. You sound really surprised by that," she said.

"I guess I never thought of you going there before. I thought when Fintan took Jason there to heal, it was Jason's first time."

"Nope. I mean we didn't go a lot, but a few times. I have cousins and other relatives there. We would usually go together during the summer. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there," she confessed.

"Glad to hear that last part," I said. "Are you looking forward to our night at home?"

"I am. I'd like to cook tonight, if you haven't already prepared something."

"Not yet. I'll leave that to you then," I said.

She chuckled, "I'll see you when I get home."

"I can't wait." And we hung up. So there would be fairies at my wedding. Who would have thought? I decided to watch television until Sookie got home and just sat back and put my feet up on the edge of my desk. I so would have won on Jeopardy.

It was nearing sunset when I checked my email again. A friend of mine in Baltimore had emailed to say that Freyda had purchased tickets on a flight to Australia. Good, she took my run and hide advice seriously. However, she was being loaded on the flight while in her coffin, and he managed to get the coffin off-loaded to a private jet to Shreveport. He had taken the precaution of wrapping the coffin tightly in silver chains. They should arrive in Shreveport tonight around nine. I called Godric, filled him in on everything, even playing the recorded phone call for him. He would meet the flight and take delivery of the coffin for me. Freyda could wait for a visit from me until tomorrow night. That would totally demoralize her; that I couldn't even be bothered to deal with her tonight. I had a special night at home planned with my Sookie. Godric would happily play with Freyda tonight.

I felt a thrill of victory surge through me. I was looking forward to tomorrow night almost as much as tonight, but obviously for completely different reasons. I wondered if Fintan could read vampire minds. I'd never dared ask him, and since he didn't live in this realm, it hadn't really mattered. Freyda might have a lot of information about Victor's plans. I would have to figure out how to handle all of this. However, right now, I wanted to prepare for my Sookie's arrival home. I hopped into the shower, and then dressed for an evening at home – jeans and t-shirt. Not all that different from how I usually dress, but I was going to go barefoot. That was my big concession to the night at home. When the sun had set, I wandered upstairs, set some towels out for the pool/hot tub, placed our board games on the coffee table, and went into the kitchen. I was unloading the dishwasher from last night when Sookie wandered in with a big smile on her face.

"I can't believe you're putting dishes away!" she exclaimed.

"Why is that so incredible?" I asked chuckling.

"I don't know; it just is. Hi sweetie," she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me in greeting.

"How was your day today," I asked.

"Really good. I finished up the last of the wedding planning, and we signed up several new landscaping jobs. We've actually had to up our plant orders from the distributors. We have enough waiting landscaping jobs that Jason and I talked about hiring even more workers."

"How many more do you think you need?" I asked.

"We were thinking four more. With the six you provided before that should be enough."

"Let me talk to the pack master about that. I would really like it if these new hires could be Weres who could protect you like the others. Ok?" I asked.

She thought for a minute, "I guess that would be OK. However, we will only need three from the pack. Jason's friend Hoyt wants to leave the road crew and come work for us. He's like family so I think it's a good idea."

I nodded, "let me just call him while you cook your dinner…"

I walked into the living room, dialed the packmaster, and told him what was needed. He said it wouldn't be a problem because the six who were currently working for The Enchanted Garden were so happy with their jobs, that there was a waiting list to join them if the occasion should arise. He was sending three more workers tomorrow morning.

I walked back into the kitchen and told Sookie. She was busily chopping something, but she stopped for a moment to kiss me in thanks. I deepened the kiss and would taken it further, but she was serious about cooking her dinner.

I had to ask her, "do you just like cooking that much?"

"I do like cooking. It relaxes me. And I've been dying to cook on all these new appliances. To see how it is different from the old antiques Gran has. I mean, I've got this amazing new kitchen, and I haven't really gotten to use it." She thought for a moment, "how was your day?"

"We captured Freyda. She should be arriving in a silver wrapped coffin at nine tonight. Godric is taking delivery."

Sookie gasped, "that fast?" I nodded; she continued, "Wow. Aren't you just dying to, I don't know, see her, talk to her, question her?"

"I really want to question her. I suspect she knows a lot about Victor's plans," I paused, "you wouldn't happen to know if your grandfather can read vampire minds, would you?"

She shrugged, "he's more powerful than I am; I know that. Why don't you give him a call."

I chuckled, "I just saw him last night. He's going to try to help get our water fae prisoner's children out so they can be re-united."

She turned and looked at me, "I didn't know you were doing that. Why?"

"He and his wife were forced into the attack. She died, and he wants to save his children from the water fae indoctrinization against hybrids."

"That's very kind of you, to help him. I'm a little surprised."

"You're surprised that I can be kind?" I asked.

"No, of course not. You've been more than kind to me and my family. And the children's hospital. I guess I've never seen you demonstrate that kindness to enemies, is all. I'm impressed," she smiled.

I shrugged, "he's seen the unfairness of killing hybrids. He's an artist who just wants to save his kids from the fate of his wife. Fintan read his mind and saw his sincerity, so he is going to help us rescue the children."

She wrapped her arms around my waist, "Did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings."

I just looked into her eyes in silence for a moment, and then we both just cracked up laughing.

"Seriously? You are quoting a Bette Midler song to me?" I asked laughing.

She giggled, "I don't know any Shakespeare to quote." She reached into her purse and handed me her phone, "here, call my grandfather."

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Special thanks to those who reviewed since last time – it means so much to me – as of 10/1/17: princessspot5, Medtran, Perfecta999, ljhjelm49, Duckbutt, hummingbirdgrrl, georgiasuzy, VampMad50, ericlover69, The Vikings Succubus, Nicolle1977, Asami's clown, MsNorthman, ciasteczko, jackie69, grammysharbear2, fanfictionfan4444, tleel, FlowerChild23, Guest


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43 – Freaky Friday Freyda

 _Last time:_

" _You're surprised that I can be kind?" I asked._

" _No, of course not. You've been more than kind to me and my family. And the children's hospital. I guess I've never seen you demonstrate that kindness to enemies, is all. I'm impressed," she smiled._

 _I shrugged, "he's seen the unfairness of killing hybrids. He's an artist who just wants to save his kids from the fate of his wife. Fintan read his mind and saw his sincerity, so he is going to help us rescue the children."_

 _She wrapped her arms around my waist, "_ _Did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings."_

 _I just looked into her eyes in silence for a moment, and then we both just cracked up laughing._

" _Seriously? You are quoting a Bette Midler song to me?" I asked laughing._

 _She giggled, "I don't know any Shakespeare to quote." She reached into her purse and handed me her phone, "here, call my grandfather."_

Now:

Sookie finished cooking her meal about the same time I finished my conversation with her grandfather. I wasn't really surprised that he could indeed hear vampire's thoughts. He made arrangements to join me once again tomorrow night to question Freyda. If she knew Victor's plans, so would we. I even thought about including the government agents in the interrogation. That was tricky, though. First of all, I'd have to explain capturing and holding her in my own facility. Second, I'd have to expose Fintan. I'd need to discuss this with Godric.

Sookie brought her food to the place setting I had placed in the dining room, along with a goblet of Royalty Blend for me. We sat and discussed our days together, just like any other couple. Just like any other couple who captured and imprisoned de-throned queens and were strategizing about preventing a megalomaniac from conquering the world. Yep, Sookie and I were perfectly normal.

After dinner we cleaned the kitchen together. When the dishwasher was loaded, well about half full, I asked Sookie what she wanted to do.

She thought for a moment and said, "let's see what's on TV and play board games. Maybe through the games we'll sort of… well… work up to the pool and hot tub." It was her turn to waggle her eyebrows.

"I like how you think," I told her. We walked into the den, and I turned on the TV. Out of habit, I first checked CNN, and there was a story about Rasul. We both stopped to watch it. It was a really nice piece on him, and how he hoped to bring peace and stability to the vampires of Louisiana. He came off looking really good. After that we settled on a movie that Sookie really liked called _Scaramouche_ on the classic movie network. Nostalgia was strange for me and old movies; not only did I usually remember when the movie first came out, but I also remembered the time period they were set in. I shook my head at the thought of that.

We settled down on the floor on either side of the coffee table, and Sookie decided we would play Battleship. The way we played it was – every time you got a 'miss' you had to remove an article of clothing. Every time you got a 'hit' you could put something back on. I had tried to argue that if you got a 'hit' your opponent had to remove a piece of clothing, but Sookie argued that made the game go too fast, at least in terms of stripping, so I conceded her point. Sookie particularly liked playing this game with me since she couldn't read my mind. It seems that when she played it in the past, she didn't find it challenging because she could always 'see' where the ships were.

We played for about an hour before we were both pretty much naked, so we decided to move our activities to the hot tub. We hadn't actually finished the last game, but that really wasn't the point of playing as far as I was concerned.

Once we were in the tub, Sookie put her arms around my neck, and we kissed. And kissed. And then we kissed some more. "Are we making out?"I chuckled.

"Oh yes," Sookie answered.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Why is your bra always the last thing you remove when we're stripping to the board games? I would think it would be your underwear, but it's always your bra. Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.

She giggled, "because, you big Viking, once my bra is off, you lose all powers of concentration. Game over. I think it's because my boobs are above the table, and my underwear is below."

"A valid point; I concede to your wisdom," I stated. I smirked; I'd seen thousands of women's breasts, but only Sookie's could completely break my concentration. "Although, I must admire your sense of fair play. You could easily use that to your advantage to win the game."

"Maybe I will next time," she said waggling her eyebrows and swimming slightly back away from me.

I grabbed her under her arms and pulled her back to me to resume our make-out session. I reached down to caress her behind and lifted her onto my waiting erection. She let out a huge sigh and whispered simply, "finally."

I lifted her up and down and asked, "why finally?"

She kissed from my shoulder up my neck to my ear, "I finally feel complete." Her tongue went into my ear and my eyes rolled back in my head. She whispered, "I only feel absolutely complete when we're joined like this."

I nodded, "I feel the same. The rest of the time I'm fine, but there's something in my body that is constantly searching for this… this completion."

She whispered, "yes, that's exactly how I feel." She placed her hands on my shoulders and rode up and down quickly, then up and ever-so-slowly down. We resumed kissing during her ride, and then I kissed down her neck, licked and bit. She gasped, and then I paused for a moment, bit into my wrist, and presented it to her. She latched on, and I resumed my 'meal'. We both finished at the same time and were licking each other clean together. We rested our foreheads together as Sookie's ride picked up speed. Soon we were both breathing hard. I palmed her breast and she leaned her head back and moaned loudly. Then her breathing quieted into little gasps, and I knew it wouldn't be long until she came. I also knew it wouldn't be long for me either. I bent down and took her nipple into my mouth and sucked. That was all it took for her, and I followed right after.

"My Sookie," I breathed, "I will never get used to this. You are like no other."

"A++ for sweet talk," she panted back. "Top of the class." We were holding each other tightly and rubbing each other's backs. "I have to admit that, so far, living with you is the best. I can't imagine anything better."

I smiled and pulled a little back from her, "for me as well," I said and kissed her temple, and then I just nuzzled my cheek with hers. I just relished in our closeness.

After a few minutes we were just sitting in the hot tub and talking about any and everything. After a while she mentioned, "Rasul looked really good on TV. I mean the coverage of him."

Then I remembered I needed to tell Sookie about my espionage plan. "Sookie, you know I told you about Victor Madden's plan to take over the country?" She nodded. "He desperately wants you and Jason because he thinks it will give him the edge he needs to accomplish his goals, and to that end, he is trying to recruit me to his side without telling me what his plans are. He has planted spies all over the country, and I recently found out that Freyda's vampire brother Clancy works at Fangtasia."

"Did you fire him when you found out?" she asked.

"No, I promoted him," I smiled. She tilted her head to the side in question. "I also asked Francois to befriend him. That way we can control the flow of information to him. The reason I'm bringing this up is because I told Francois to let slip that I'm very upset with Rasul because I got passed over for his job, and he's taking my child away. I just wanted you to know that none of that is true in case you heard it from somewhere."

Sookie narrowed her eyes and responded, "so if Victor calls you to maybe comfort you for your recent bad luck, you'll have confirmation that Clancy is a spy. And just maybe Victor will start spilling the beans about his plans…" She smiled, "you are so smart!"

I shrugged, "well, you once told me I was the valedictorian." We both laughed.

She asked, "why didn't you want the job that Rasul has?"

"Oh, so many reasons. I don't want the hassle, the paperwork. But mostly because of you. I'm ready to get married, really begin our lives together, and be with you forever, if you'll let me." I waited while she weighed my words. I wondered if she truly knew what I was asking. I may have pushed a large amount of longing into the bond.

"Forever, eh?" she responded. I just looked at her still waiting for her response. "Well, you remember that I'll live for a long time, right?" I nodded. "I know that you want me to commit to becoming a vampire, but … " My shoulders must have sagged at the word 'but'. "Don't get all disappointed, Eric. I still have plenty of time to have a heartbeat. You know I want to be with you forever, too. I'm just not ready to commit to being a vampire. That doesn't mean that I won't ever be ready. Please don't be upset with me for that."

I nodded, "then I'll just have to make sure that we have the most wonderful life together, and one day, I will just have to convince you." I kissed her cheek then gave her a peck on the lips. The peck turned into something deeper. I leaned Sookie over the side of the hot tub and entered her from behind. I took long slow strokes in and out of her. She felt so, so good to me.

"You feel so good to me, my Eric," she exclaimed. I shook my head at how often our minds were thinking exactly alike; if she only knew. Or was she subconsciously picking up my thoughts? I shook my head and picked up the speed of my thrusts, and she reciprocated with little moans timed with them. I reached one hand to a breast and the other hand between her legs, and it didn't take us long to find another release. In fact, we stayed in the hot tub to find a total of five releases each. A record for us in the tub, and a tribute to our night together in our home. Sookie showed no signs of tiring; her new strength was impressive.

"Are you ready to go inside for the night, my love?" I asked. She nodded and yawned.

"I'm getting a little sleepy, but amazingly, I don't feel tired at all," she declared.

"Let's get inside. We can take a shower, and then we can watch TV together in bed, like an old married couple," I smiled.

She chuckled, "OK, that sounds great."

Once we were in bed, after an unprecedented sixth round in the shower, I grabbed the remote and turned on the television. We settled on a movie that Sookie had seen and liked called _A Knight's Tale_. It was a movie set in the middle ages with the premise that knights who fought in jousting tournaments were the rock stars of their day. The movie had the rock and roll score to accompany the action. Since I had actually lived through that period, I found the modern elements of the story quite entertaining. That and it was actually funny. I even asked her a few times, "shall I fong you?"

We were about half-way through the movie when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, and I was about to let it go to voice mail, when Sookie picked up the remote and paused the movie. She nodded that she wanted me to answer the call, so I did, "Northman."

"Viking, how are you this evening?"

I motioned for Sookie to be very quiet, and I put the phone on speaker and record. "Victor, this is getting to be a habit. By now you must have me on speed dial. What's going on with you?"

"I'm just checking in with you. I hear that you are frustrated." Sookie's eyes got really wide.

"I'm frustrated? Where did you hear that?" I asked.

"It's understandable. You were one of Sophie Ann's greatest assets, and The Authority didn't think to appoint you to replace her. I'd be frustrated too," Victor confessed. Gotcha Clancy!

I raised my eyebrow and smiled at Sookie, "where are you getting your information, Victor. I completely support Rasul as the head of vampires in Louisiana."

"Oh ho, Viking, now my bullshit meter is reading off the charts. I _know_ you are upset about that," Victor chuckled.

I chuckled too, "and just how do you know that, Victor?" Sookie just shook her head.

"Oh… a little bird told me. You know how our world is. If you are unhappy about something and don't want anyone to know, I suggest that in the future you tell no one." I rolled my eyes; as if this asshole could teach me about how to be a vampire. When I didn't say anything for a few moments, he continued, "perhaps now you are ready to join me. I have a plan to improve the position of vampires in America."

I snorted, "oh really? Victor you keep hinting and hinting at some grand master plan, but you actually say very little. What in the hell are you up to?" I waited, but again there was dead silence from Victor. As I expected. I let the silence linger for a while before I sighed and asked, "As usual, nothing to say when I ask a question. Good night, Victor. It's been _grand_ talking to you every night."

"Wait, Viking," Victor said before I could hang up.

Now we were getting somewhere, but just for fun I let a moment of silence of my own pass before I answered, "yes…" Sookie looked up at me and smiled.

"You're right. I do, as you say, have a master plan, and it will be coming to fruition very soon. I could use a vampire of your age and skills on my side," Victor confessed.

"To do what exactly?" I asked.

"I have a _grand_ list of things you could be helpful with, but most of all I could use the services of your little fairy and her brother. If you could secure them for me, I could find you a role high up in my regime," Victor finally confessed. Sookie put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Your regime?" I asked. "What exactly does that mean?"

"I've said all I can say without your agreement," Victor answered.

"You've said a big ball of nothing, Victor. All you've said is that you want Sookie and her brother Jason. You've said nothing of why you want them, or what I would be getting myself into if I agree. I ask again, what are you up to?" I asked yet again.

"Perhaps if you lifted that edict banning me from your area, and we could meet face to face, I would tell you more. Until then, that's all I'm going to say," he concluded.

"Well, Victor, unless you tell me more, that edict is staying. You've given me no reason to trust you; you've only spoken of mysterious plans of mysterious regimes and of wanting my bonded and her brother. It could all be just so much bullshit merely to obtain Sookie and Jason. When you are ready to be more forthcoming, maybe I'll listen, and maybe I'll be interested. And maybe, just maybe, I would talk to Sookie about it. Until then, that's all _I'm_ going to say," I answered, winking at her. She stifled her impulse to giggle with both hands clasped over her mouth.

There was a long silence before Victor spoke again, "I'll consider your terms. Give my best to your fairy, Viking." He hung up. I walked over to my computer, hooked the cable up to my phone and sent the recording of the conversation to Godric, Rasul, The Authority, and Agents Pettigrew and Langford.

While I was doing that, Sookie sat up on the bed and watched, "wow. He's a real piece of work. Just like Freaky Freyda." I burst out laughing at Sookie's new name for Freyda. Mainly because it was so on point. "So, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I just sent that conversation to several people. I want to make sure that if anything does develop with Victor, that I've covered my ass, so to speak," I answered.

"Good thinking. Uhm, are you going to come back to bed?" she asked as she let the sheet she was holding up to her chest drop.

"Oh, yes!" I responded by jumping up in the air. Once again, she closed her eyes to brace for impact only to open them a few moments later to find me suspended in the air over her. She giggled with abandon as I lowered myself on top of her. "Shall we set a new orgasm record?" I asked.

"Oh, yes!" she echoed. And we did.

A little while after we finished, Sookie fell asleep. I propped my elbow on my pillow and rested my head against my fist as I simply watched her sleep. This was right; this was best. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I loved the scent of not only my Sookie, but also of our mating. I'd never smelled a more wonderful perfume. For the longest time I had absolutely no desire to move. I rationalized that I had arisen extra-early today, therefore I could indulge myself with just laying here and watching my Sookie sleep. To me, this was better than cable television. In fact, I looked up at the screen, and the TV was still on with the mute button still applied. The movie we were watching had long since ended. Something else had taken its place, but it didn't matter. The most wonderful entertainment on the planet was just watching Sookie sleep. I realized with a little chagrin that Pam was right; Sookie had made saps of us all. And, even with all the chaos surrounding us, I'd never been so happy in my very long life.

After about an hour, I got up and walked to my computer. As anticipated, there were messages from all the people to whom I'd sent the phone call. Rasul had simply acknowledged his receipt of it. Godric mentioned that in light of the phone call, he was looking forward to my visit with Freyda tomorrow night. The Authority thanked me for keeping them in to loop. Agents Pettigrew and Langford asked if there were anything they should do. I thought on that last one for a moment, and sent off an email to Godric asking if he thought the agents could be trusted to attend the interrogation of Freyda, especially since Fintan was going to be there.

While waiting for his answer, I'd turned off the mute button on the remote control, but I'd turned the volume so low that if I weren't a vampire I wouldn't have been able to hear it. I found an old movie on one of the classic movie channels called _Destry Rides Again_ that I decided to watch while I waited for the morning to come and my day death to take me. For reasons I still didn't understand, I had found Marlene Dietrich very sexy during her heyday. I don't know why; as an actress she had the emotional range of a teaspoon. Maybe that was why. I didn't try to overanalyze it. She was hot in her day, enough said.

I watched the movie and soon it ended and another film began. This one was another Marlene Dietrich film called _Witness for the Prosecution_ by Agatha Christie. I wondered briefly why there seemed to be a Dietrich festival of sorts. Maybe it was her birthday? No matter, I remembered this movie from when it was first released about sixty years ago. So I thought I would enjoy it again.

At some point during the movie I must have slipped into down time because the next thing I noticed was the sound of Sookie's alarm clock. I turned from my desk chair to look at her, and she was sitting up in bed looking back at me. "Eric? What are you doing up? It's daylight now," she exclaimed sleepily.

Was it? "Is it?" I asked. "What time is it?"

"It's a quarter to ten. In the morning. This is my late day, remember? Why are you up?" she asked.

I was at a loss. "I watched you sleep for about an hour, and then I got up to watch a movie. I must have gone into down time. Huh. This is strange," I responded. "Sookie, I don't even feel the pull to go down for the day."

Her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline, "Really?"

I nodded and walked over to sit beside her on the bed. "I was elated to be rising earlier and earlier, but to not even die… rest for the day at all? This is unbelievable." I looked at Sookie and she was smiling ear to ear. "What?" I smiled back at her.

"Maybe next time, you should try just sleeping with me…" she shrugged. "Maybe you'll wake with me." And then she gasped, "do you think it could be possible… "

I waited, but she didn't seem to want to finish her sentence. "Do I think what could be possible?" I asked.

"Do you think, I'm just wondering, do you think you might be able to go out into the sunlight?" she whispered.

 _That_ would certainly be an advantage. I shook my head, "maybe. I'm not sure I'm ready to try that yet." And suddenly the dangers of that became blindingly apparent to me. "Sookie, you can't tell anyone about this, not even your brother. Especially if we learn that I can go out into the sun. That would put a HUGE target on both our backs. Do you know how many vampires would want you if that were true?"

Her eyes got enormous and she nodded, "OK, Eric. I won't tell anybody." She got up on her knees and kissed me, "it's kind of cool to be able to talk to you in the morning."

"What do you usually do about now?" I asked.

She gave me a peck on the lips and then jumped out of bed donning her robe. "Now, I get dressed and go to work. I usually sleep as late as I can, especially if I've been up late the night before, which is most of the time. So, no Sookie nookie time this morning." She crossed into the bathroom and I followed and watched as she washed her face and brushed her teeth. She then turned to me and said, "you have to step out."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I have human needs you don't want to watch, you big goof," she laughed.

"Ah," I replied as I walked back into the bedroom. She was right about that. I donned a pair of satin sleep pants as I waited for her to emerge from the bathroom. I then spread across the end of the bed with my head propped on my fist.

She came out and stopped and looked at me. "Oh, man. You are so gorgeous. It was hard enough to go to work when you were asleep. Now it's hard for completely different reasons." She shook her head, "it should be a sin to look so good in the morning." Her words made me smile. "Are you just going to lay there and watch me get dressed?"

"Yep. Get to it, or you'll be late."

She giggled and started getting dressed. "What are you going to do today?" she asked.

"I have no idea. I've never had an entire day to kill," I admitted. It occurred to me that the draw to the day death may still be lurking for me, but I sure didn't feel it at the moment. In fact, I felt like always did when I was awake. "Is there anything you need me to do for the wedding?"

She thought for a moment, "well, there is one thing I've not done yet." She grabbed her invitation list. "I was going to make up a seating chart for the reception dinner, but I don't know who you've invited. Also, I haven't yet told the hotel how to arrange the tables for that. Could you work on that for me?" She handed me a drawing of the ballroom that the hotel had apparently emailed to her. "I started with the wedding party and a few of the tables of people I knew would want to sit together, but other than that… "

I looked at the list and the drawing. "I could do this," I admitted. "Could you put a little asterisk by the guests who will be fairies? Probably not a good idea to seat them with vampires," I grinned.

She giggled, "of course." She took the guest list and quickly marked it with asterisks for the fairies. There were already check marks for the guests she already had on the seating chart. There were also little notes about the guests, such as if there were the Were employees or guards. She had even listed Thalia, Jesus, Clovache and Batanya after the invitation list with check marks by their names. I looked over the list and quickly memorized all of the important details while she finished getting dressed. I sat at my desk and grabbed a pen to begin working on this.

"May I suggest that you do it in pencil. That way if you change your mind about something you can simply erase it. I changed my mind many times on the seats I've already assigned," she recommended. That was probably a good idea. She had an eye for all the practical details. It was why she was an actual valedictorian.

Finally, she dressed for work. She came over to me at the desk and gave me a kiss. "I'm off. See you when I get home."

"As ever, be careful out there," I smiled. She gave me one more peck, and she was off. I could hear her when she got to the top of the stairs and asked Clovache if she wanted a cup of coffee to go. She fixed her own cup and left for the day.

I settled down to work on the seating chart. It was harder than I thought trying to seat everyone where they would possibly enjoy the company of their table-mates. I had to consider not only species, but also rank, interests, etc. I wanted to mix up the species some, in other words not all vampires at vampire only tables, but this was difficult. I ended up spending all of the morning and part of the afternoon on the chart, and I was really glad for Sookie's recommendation to use a pencil.

About three-thirty I got a phone call from Godric. He had invited the two government agents to join us when we questioned Freyda. He had explained about her death threat on Sookie and my contract to have her brought to me. They had accepted the fact that I was holding her for questioning, but they were most anxious to find out anything she knew about Victor's plans. He had also mentioned to them that she tried to have the Stackhouses kidnapped a while back as well. He told them that we had a supernatural interrogator coming, and they were keenly interested to see that process. I hoped Godric knew what he was doing. I called ahead to Fangtasia and ordered the basement put in order. I was holding Freyda there because I didn't want to hold her in the same location as Tannis. That turned out to be a good decision because I really didn't want the agents to know about either the warehouse or Tannis.

By the time the sun went down, I was really ready to get out of the underground space. I went upstairs and made sure the kitchen and dining room were clean so Sookie wouldn't have to clean it when she got home. I put the board games away in the den closet, and picked up the towels we'd left out by the pool/hot tub. I was just finishing all of that when she walked through the door. I grabbed her and kissed her in welcome. I knew we wouldn't have long together before I had to leave to question Freyda. We caught up on each other's days, and I showed her the seating chart. She looked at it a good long time and then nodded her approval.

She knew what I had to do tonight, so she told me to get going. Her rationale was that the sooner I left to take of business, the sooner I could come home. I couldn't fault her on her logic. I only hoped it proved true.

I arrived at Fangtasia just as Godric and the two agents were arriving. We all walked into my office to wait for Fintan. I gave the agents an update on what had happened with Victor the night before even though I had emailed the recording of the phone call to them. I tried to bring them up to date on Freyda's relationship with Victor, although my actual knowledge of their relationship was fairly limited. I told them that I thought that we would get more information tonight.

After about twenty minutes there was a knock on my door. Instead of barking my usual 'enter', I thought it prudent to answer the door directly in the case it was Fintan, which it was. The agents, who had been sitting on the sofa both stood when he walked in. He was dressed as he usually was, wearing a knee-length, pale brocade jacket over matching pale pants. His hair was loose down his back to his waist. Both agent's eyes went wide when they saw him. I felt it was important to be formal with him tonight for the benefit of FBI and Homeland Security to assure he was shown the proper respect.

"Good evening, your highness," I said as Godric and I deeply nodded our heads in respect. "May I present to you Agent Paul Langford of the FBI and Agent Tom Pettigrew of Homeland Security both of the United States government." Both agents nodded to him, and I turned to them, "gentlemen, may I introduce Prince Fintan Brigant, Sookie's grandfather."

Both of their eyes went wide. Homeland Security was the first to find his voice, "you're the grandfather to Jason and Sookie Stackhouse?"

Fintan nodded, "indeed I am. I've been assured by Mr. Northman that you mean no harm to my grandchildren, is this true?" His eyes squinted so that he could listen into their heads as well as their words from their mouths.

FBI nodded, "absolutely, Mr., er, Prince… I'm sorry, I don't quite know how to address you."

Fintan smiled. Apparently he liked what he heard in their heads. "You may address me by my name, Fintan. It is a luxury I allow myself while in this realm." He looked around the room, and we all nodded. "Now, I understand I have a vampire to question?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet with an opalescent stone which he place on his wrist. He looked at me, "it boosts my power for vampires. Humans and others are easier."

I nodded, and gestured to the hidden door in my office that Godric was now holding open. We all descended the stairs to the basement, which, other than one cell in which Freyda was being held, looked otherwise like any other basement.

Freyda was sitting on the cot in the cell wearing a silver ankle iron that was covered in heavily padded fabric. I walked to the front and center of the cell and the other four lined up horizontally behind me. "Hello, Freyda," was all I said to her.

She stood and walked as far as the chain would let her, "what the fuck, Eric. You couldn't be bothered to even come here last night?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I already had plans for a special night with my… with Sookie." I didn't want to have to explain bonding to the two agents; I had been forthcoming enough with them.

"You didn't come here because you were spending time with your human? How dare you hold me here. I am a queen!"

"There are no more queens in America, Freyda. I've lost count of how many times I've told you that," I chuckled.

"That ruling is about to be overturned, you fucker, and I'll be queen of more than just Oklahoma. You just wait and see. And when I am, I'm going to kill you and that little fairy of yours," she spat.

She was making this almost too easy. I turned and looked at Fintan, and he nodded in return. I took that to mean that he was picking up some valuable information.

"Exactly what does that mean, Freyda," I asked. "Does it have to do with the plans of Victor Madden?"

At first she seemed surprised. "Wouldn't you like to know," she responded. Gods, would people never stop answering questions that way?! It was maddening since it was so… well… stupid.

Fintan stepped forward and clasped his hands in front of him, "Eric, if I may?" I nodded and stepped back. Fintan began, "former Queen Freyda…" He paused, and I smirked at the intentional insult. He continued, "when exactly is the attack from Victor Madden's forces scheduled to start?" No one could accuse Fintan of beating around the bush.

Freyda's jaw dropped in surprise, "who the fuck are you?"

"Such language, how rude," Fintan stated and turned to me, "would you object if I taught her some manners?" I looked at the two agents, who merely shrugged, and then shook my head. Fintan clasped his hands behind his back, lowered his head slightly and said, "pain."

At first Freyda looked a little confused, then she grabbed her stomach. Soon she was panting, followed by a low keening sound which led directly to screams. There was a small trail of blood falling from one of her nostrils. I looked over at the two agents and their eyes were impossibly wide.

Fintan seemed to relax his command and spoke just as softly as the first time, "I'll ask again, when is Victor Madden going to attack?"

Freyda looked at me with a little fear in her eyes. I merely raised my eyebrow and said, "answer the question."

At this Freyda stood more straight and answered, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Fintan added, "she's lying. She knows exactly when it is, but she's actively not thinking about it."

Freyda's eyes went wide, "you read minds? Who are you?"

Fintan smiled, "we may get to that later. Now, answer the question, or I will be forced to hurt you again." Soon Fintan rolled his eyes, "she's mentally singing something about 99 bottles of beer." He looked at me quizzically, "apparently the bottles are on the wall?"

The agents both snorted. Fintan turned back to Freyda and continued, "please stop that. Believe it or not, hurting you is not my preference." He waited for a moment then shook his head and said, "very well" he narrowed his eyes, "agony."

This time, Freyda started screaming immediately, and she fell to her knees. Her hands fisted in her hair on either side of her head. There was blood streaming from her nose, eyes, and ears. Finally, it was Godric who said, "Fintan, that's maybe enough."

As in the past, Fintan waved his hand between Freyda and himself. Freyda stopped screaming, but her hands went to the floor in front of her, and she was gasping for air.

Her face was a mess from all her bleeding. She looked at me with a clear plea of mercy on her face. I simply shrugged and said, "answer the question."

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

So, so, so ,many thanks to all who reviewed since I posted the last chapter, as of 10/7/17: hummingbirdgrrl, princessspot5 (who happened to post review number 900! Thank you so much!), monsterakers, ljhjelm49, VampMad50, ciasteczko, jackie69, MsNorthman, Casey8686, FlowerChild23, Asami's clown, AmiraMo11, fanfictionfan4444, tleel, Duckbutt, ericlover69, Nicolle1977, Perfecta999, Medtran, The Vikings Succubus, georgiasuzy, jappeth


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44 – Proof

 _Last time:_

 _As in the past, Fintan waved his hand between Freyda and himself. Freyda stopped screaming, but her hands went to the floor in front of her, and she was gasping for air._

 _Her face was a mess from all her bleeding. She looked at me with a clear plea of mercy on her face. I simply shrugged and said, "answer the question."_

Now:

She just shook her head, as if to clear it. I had no idea where the pain that Fintan had inflicted upon her was located; maybe it was in every cell of her body. I looked at the two agents. Homeland Security had the slightest of smirks on his face, but FBI looked markedly uncomfortable. I couldn't blame him since we were probably breaking more than a few laws with this interrogation.

In fact, FBI leaned over to whisper in Homeland Security's ear, "you know, anything we get from her probably won't hold up in court?"

Homeland Security nodded, "this is bigger than any ordinary crime. This Victor Madden is planning to unleash the biggest terrorist act in American history. I think it's more important to stop that than to worry about what will hold up in court."

Of course we all heard them in spite of their whispering, including Freyda who panted out, "stop it? You can't stop this. Victor's planned for too many years; he's got too many pieces in play. You can't possibly stop him." Even through the pain she began to laugh.

I looked at her and said, "no matter how big his fighting force is, every plan has flaws. How is he even communicating with his forces all over the nation. There are all kind of ways that could break down. If the plan isn't coordinated just right, there are all kind of ways the American authorities could stop all this." I glanced briefly at Fintan who was keeping very quiet during our conversation with his head tilted slightly, and I knew he was listening in on her thoughts. The key was to keep her thinking. To make her forget _not_ to think.

And then I decided to ask a question as if it had just occurred to me, "why are you involved with him in the first place, Freyda? You lost your crown like every other monarch, but you were still going to be the Vampire Liaison Officer of Oklahoma. You still had power. Why?"

At that she just laughed, "you. You were the reason. I wanted you, and Victor was going to give you to me. I had just hoped to persuade you rather than force you."

Godric snorted, "why do you want Eric so badly?"

She sat back on her heels, "you need to ask? Just look at him. I've wanted him from the moment I first saw him." She looked at me, "we could have been so good together. There's nothing I wouldn't give you."

I shook my head, "sadly, you have nothing I want."

She tilted her head to the side, "what you want doesn't enter into it. You are MINE! You will be mine, and you have nothing to say about it. Victor has assured me. Any vampire who doesn't follow him, doesn't obey him when he takes over will die."

Godric said, "ah, so it's as simple as that." Freyda nodded and looked at us with confidence that what she had just told us was absolute, and that I should feel properly threatened. Godric and I just looked at each other for a moment before we just cracked up laughing. Godric finally asked me, "just how old is Victor?"

I shrugged because I didn't know exactly, "maybe five hundred, at the most."

Godric looked at Freyda, "he's very ambitious for a child." At that declaration, FBI coughed.

I looked at Freyda and let total condescension fill my voice, "do you even know Victor's plans, Freyda? I have trouble believing that Victor would even trust someone as… mentally challenged as you."

She looked at me with hatred, "you think me mentally challenged?"

I smiled, "of course I do, and you know it. How many times have I directly called you a moron? And if I can see it, I'm pretty sure that Victor can too. So why would he share his grand plan with you?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a smile on Fintan's face. Freyda had all but forgotten about him. She truly was a moron. I continued, "just how does he think that Sookie and Jason can help him?" Fintan tilted his head with that question.

"I'm not telling you anything. But know this, you won't hold onto your fairy whore once Victor has taken over."

The smile immediately left Fintan's face, and he listened for a few moments more before he turned to me and said, "I think I've gotten everything."

Freyda looked shocked. Did she think the mindreader among us hadn't been listening in? She was, as I had told her, too stupid to live, and even I was awed by her sheer idiocy. Fintan turned to her, "your life is forfeit. If not today, then soon. You have disrespected the sky fae royal family; you have threatened the life of my granddaughter and called her a whore. If the vampire or human justice system doesn't kill you, then the fairies surely will. This I promise; this I swear."

Freyda looked at me, then at Godric, then back at Fintan, "you're a fairy?" Seriously? How many people were there walking around who dressed and looked like Fintan? He just reached up and put his hair behind his ears, revealing their points. I didn't think the eyes on FBI and Homeland Security could go any wider than they already had tonight, but I was wrong.

Godric shook his head and chuckled softly, "you really are quite dumb."

Freyda let out a frustrated yell, "why does everybody keep saying that?" All five of us just looked at her in silence for a moment, and then, as if there were some mystical cue, we all burst out laughing together. Freyda just screeched again, which made us laugh even harder. At one point Homeland Security bent from the waist and grabbed his knees, he was laughing so hard. I even saw FBI wipe a tear from beneath an eye and then cough to try to sober himself up. I walked over to the refrigerator in the basement and pulled out a cold True Blood, and slid it across the floor of her cell till it was close enough for Freyda to reach it.

"Really? Cold True Blood?" Freyda sniped.

"Drink it or don't," I responded. Then I turned toward the exit door and gestured, "gentlemen." They filed up to return to my office before me. I turned to Freyda and said, "you know you will die the true death very, very soon… one way or another, right?"

"Just because I wanted you?" she asked.

"Because you failed to understand that no one gets everything they want. Not even a queen… which you are not. Oh, and Freaky Freyda, as my bonded calls you, I am most definitely NOT yours. And I never will be."

I finally walked through the door, but I still heard her say, "we'll see." I could only shake my head as I climbed the stairs.

When I got to the top, Fintan asked, "can you get me a map of the United States? One with cities on it?"

I sat behind my desk and did a google search to find an American map with the cities on it and printed it out on larger than normal paper. I handed it to Fintan, and he asked for a pencil which I also gave him. He then sat down in one of the guest chairs in front of the desk, and set to work marking various things on the map. I quickly cleared everything on the front of my desk out of his way. He looked up at me and said, "this may take a while."

I nodded and turned to the agents, "can I get you something to drink, gentlemen?"

FBI turned to Homeland Security, "are we on duty?"

"Not technically, although we are in the midst of a lot of duty-related shit. What do you think?"

FBI answered, "I think I'd like a lite beer."

Homeland Security nodded, "and I'd like a bourbon and water neat."

"Fintan, something to drink?" I asked. He looked up briefly and asked for red wine and went back to work on the map. I phoned the orders up to the bar, and they arrived quickly along with two Royalty Blended for Godric and me.

Homeland Security took a swig and said, "I've got to give it to you Northman; life is never dull when you're around."

I smiled, "I can't take all the credit for that. My life was actually painfully dull until I met Sookie."

I heard Fintan chuckle at that statement, "I could have told you that. Her whole life has been one big adventure." He looked up from the map, "when she was small she was a handful. Even more than Jason. I think it is because she has such a naturally curious mind." He paused for a moment, "and she is so very,very smart." Pride just rolled off of him.

"I guess she would have to be to be valedictorian of both her high school and college classes. Plus she'll have her masters degree at the age of twenty-four," I added just as proudly. Fintan must have recognized the shared pride because he smiled and nodded at me, then returned to his work on the map.

I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out two invitations to the wedding, "gentlemen, I verbally invited you to my wedding. Here are the official invitations."

FBI smiled, "thank you, Mr. Northman. I look forward to it."

The two agents, Godric, and I chatted for another twenty minutes or so while Fintan worked on the map. Finally he announced he had finished. He called us over and explained all the markings he had made on the paper at many, many geographical locations. On the back of the map, he had placed the time tables for the actions as well as the various means of communication for both overall control and communication between various points. Holy gods, Victor was thorough. He had plans on top of plans on top of plans to take over the country in a matter of days. Luckily for us, Fintan was also thorough. The fact that he had been able to capture it all and explain it in such detail was nothing short of amazing.

Homeland Security asked, "you got all this from looking in the dumb vampire's head?"

Fintan smiled, "while she is extremely unintelligent, like most vampires she has perfect recall. I just had to find the right snapshots in her brain. I then took my own snapshots, and here is the result," he said pointing to the map he had created.

FBI looked at Fintan in more than a little awe, "may I ask you a question?" Fintan nodded so he continued, "you look so young. I mean you look more like Sookie's brother than her grandfather. Just how old are you?"

Fintan smiled, "I am roughly the same age as Eric. Give or take a few decades."

Homeland Security asked, "so full-blood fairies are immortal?"

Fintan nodded, "yes, they are. But I am only half fairy. My mother was human. So we will just have to see if I am immortal or not."

Homeland Security asked, "you are only half fairy? Is a full fairy more powerful than you?"

Fintan smirked, raised his eyebrow and said, "doubtful." The agents looked suitably impressed. Godric and I just chuckled. He may only be half fae, but he's a royal Brigant. He wouldn't be heir to the throne as a half fae if he weren't just as powerful as any other full fae. Luckily, the sky fae didn't view hybrids in any way like the water fae did. If I understood the fae correctly, it was in Fintan's favor to be a half-breed since full-blooded male fae had such sterility problems. And my Sookie was evidence that Fintan obviously had no such problems. That was probably why he carried himself with such confidence and grace. It was also why both Sookie and Jason had no self-esteem problems.

Sure Sookie was a virgin when I met her, but it wasn't because of a lack of self-confidence. She simply couldn't be with anyone whose thoughts she could hear. That was a quirk of hers to my benefit. I relished the fact that I was the first and only man who would ever know her body, her passion. I knew that I was the luckiest vampire to have all that, and I swore to Freya that I would always make sure that Sookie felt my appreciation. That she felt appreciated. That she always felt adored.

Shortly, my phone rang. I looked at the number, which I didn't recognize, signaled for everyone to be quiet, hit speaker and record, and answered, "Northman."

"Hello, Viking. I've considered your terms, and I've decided to include you in my plans." I immediately sent an email to Raphael to trace the call.

I looked at the other men in the room, and smirked, "Victor, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't get my nightly call from you. My heart just might break. OK, I'll play, what are your plans?"

We were all waiting silently. Finally, Victor said, "I've built myself a little army." We all waited, but that statement was followed by silence.

I said, "that's it? You've got a little army? Why? For what?"

"Aren't you tired of the edicts from The Authority? Being forced to deny your impulses, your very nature to hunt, capture, dominate? To eviscerate those who oppose you? Aren't you tired of playing the tame little vampire? Don't you long to feed on human blood with abandon?" As if I could ever feed from anyone other than Sookie again.

I rolled my eyes at his purple prose, "what's your point, Victor, besides creating pretty word pictures." Godric put his hand over his mouth to keep from chuckling out loud. Even Fintan had a smile that made crinkles around his eyes. I just shrugged and winked. Homeland Security and FBI were staring intently at my phone as if they were looking right at Victor's face.

"I have a plan, Viking, to return us to the days of old," was all he said.

"I see." I paused, "exactly what days would those be, Victor? I don't ever remember such a time as what you've just described."

"I'm talking about the days before humans dominated this planet. In the days long, long ago when the various supernatural races determined for themselves how they would live. How they would use the human cattle."

Even my eyes got big at that statement. I looked at the two government agents, and they both looked shocked. I finally said, "are you… are you talking about subjugating the human race, Victor?" I let an incredulous tone filter through my voice.

Victor chuckled. He fucking chuckled, "yes, I am. You know that vampires are superior in every way to the human livestock. They should be bowing down to us. Serving us."

I felt I needed to be believable to him, "humans outnumber us more than a thousand to one. How are you planning to overcome their sheer numbers?"

"Yes, Viking, yes. Imagine having more than a thousand choices for dinner on any given night. Are you salivating yet?"

I shook my head, "I've never really felt a lack of food, or variety of food, for my meals. Victor, what the fuck is your point?"

He chuckled again, "ok, ok, ok, I get it Viking. You are tall, blond, and beautiful. Humans probably throw themselves at your feet. But not all vampires are as attractive. Or as lucky. What I'm trying to do is make vampires the dominant species on the planet. So that every vampire will be able to live to their fullest potential. Every vampire can hunt to their heart's content. Every human will know their place in the food chain." He paused, "of course, your little fairy lover will be in an exalted position. She is, after all, supernatural herself."

"So, let me get this straight. You've got an army to subjugate humans and elevate vampires. You have some plan to use that army to accomplish your goals. And Sookie will have an exalted place in your new world order. Have I got it?" I asked.

"Exactly," he responded.

I laughed, "this sounds like just so much bullshit to me, Victor. Why should I believe any of this?"

"Well, believe it. You have no idea how big my forces are, or how far-reaching my plans have gone. The future is coming, my friend, and sooner than you think. In fact, it's almost upon us. You might want to hop aboard before it's too late."

"OK, let's say for the moment that I don't think you are completely insane, and that you actually have this enormous fighting force that is ready to take over the world. What would my hopping aboard entail?" I asked.

"Bring me the Stackhouses, and I'll make you a general in my army," he said, and I would swear I could hear him smirking.

I just laughed again, "neither Sophie Ann nor Felipe could kidnap them, so you spin some preposterous tall tale of world domination to get me to what? Just hand them over? How stupid do you think I am?"

"What if I could prove it to you?" he asked.

I quirked my eyebrow, looked at the other men in the room, and thought 'gotcha'. The two government agents were thinking along the same lines because they were smiling back at me. "How are you going to prove it to me?" I asked.

"I'm going to do you a big favor, Viking, and take care of a problem of yours. I'll call you tomorrow night, and I expect you to be suitably impressed." With that cryptic statement, he hung up.

There was silence in the room for a while. Everyone seemed just as perplexed as I was. I checked my email, and Raphael had said that Victor was calling from New Orleans. I again looked at everyone, and then it hit me, "FUCK!" I all but screamed.

Godric asked, "what is it?"

"Rasul."

Godric and I just looked at each other for a split second before we both pulled out our cell phones and started dialing.

One of the agents asked, "what is it?"

I had the phone up to my ear, and it was ringing, "I have a spy in my club, and I planted the idea that I was upset because Rasul was named Louisiana Vampire Liaison Officer over me, and in addition had taken my child Pamela away from me. I only did that so that if the information got back to Victor, than I could confirm the identity of the spy."

FBI said, "good God. Rasul is your brother right? So he's Godric's child, too?"

The phone was still ringing, "Godric's adopted child."

Godric was hanging up his phone at the same time I was hanging up mine. He looked at me, "if we fly we can make it there in an hour. Let us just hope that is not too late."

Fintan stood, "where do you need to go?"

"New Orleans," I answered.

"I can have you there in a matter of seconds," Fintan offered.

Godric took charge, "Eric, you will stay here," I started to object, but he held up his hand, "if you are spotted there it will tip your hand to Victor. Fintan will take me, and I will protect my son. You must not seem concerned for Rasul."

I hated that he was right. I nodded, "be careful, master."

He nodded, walked over to Fintan, and they joined hands. A moment later they vanished. I looked at the government agents, and their mouths were both hanging open. In spite of the situation, I chuckled, "yeah, fairies can do that, too."

There was a long pause before FBI asked, "how much of this can Jason and Sookie do?"

I raised my eyebrow and looked at him, "that is not for me to say. However, they are only one-eighth fae. I'll leave it at that."

Homeland Security added, "and this cousin of theirs, this Hadley? She has no fae powers at all right?"

I shrugged, "she's very attractive in the way that the fae are, but other than that, no, I don't think so."

FBI asked, "all of the fae are attractive?"

I smiled, "mostly they are all very _beautiful._ " I shrugged, "you've seen Jason and Sookie, and now their grandfather, you tell me."

They both chuckled. After a moment, Homeland Security asked, "so Fintan and … Adele Stackhouse? They were a couple?"

I smiled, "actually, they _are_ a couple. Still."

FBI looked shocked and asked, "still?"

I nodded, "yes, they love each other very much. Sookie says that he still thinks she's beautiful. And you know we all think she's hot." I chuckled again, "I believe at one point Fintan had words with Godric about his growing attraction to Adele." Both agents smiled at that.

Homeland Security asked, "Adele is all human, right?" I nodded. "So not immortal."

"Sadly no, she's not. Sookie worries about her a lot. As I mentioned, even though she's hot, she's in her eighties. Chances are she's not going to be around for a lot longer." I looked at them, "Sookie's parents were killed when she was five or six, so Adele and Fintan are the only parents she knows. She and Jason are very close to them both." I smiled, "you saw a very different Fintan tonight than Sookie knows. She thinks of him, and I quote, 'as the giver of loving hugs'. I only know I wouldn't want to be on opposite sides of a situation with him." Both agents' eyes widened, and they nodded their heads in agreement.

Homeland Security asked, "so, you're not really mad at Rasul?"

I shook my head, "that was just a set up for Victor's spy here in the club. Actually, I don't think Louisiana could be in better hands for its leadership. It's not a job I would ever want."

Homeland Security asked, "may we have that map that Fintan created? We need to get this information to the proper people as soon as possible."

"Sure, just let me make a copy," I said as I lifted the top of my printer and made a copy of each side for my own records. I handed them the original.

We talked of various things for another half-hour, and my phone rang. It was Sookie, "Eric, turn on the news, something is happening in New Orleans." I quickly tuned my computer to the streaming news service and motioned the agents over. There had been an explosion at Sophie Ann's palace. Actually, it was now Rasul's palace/headquarters. Sookie asked, "is this some kind of assassination attempt on Rasul? Is he OK?"

"I don't know," I answered. "My love, I'm going to have to call you back, OK?"

"OK, Eric. Let me know when you know something…" she replied and hung up.

FBI said, "good God. Victor doesn't fool around, does he?"

"No… he doesn't," I responded. I dialed Godric, but his phone went to voice mail. Then I tried Rasul, then Pamela. All calls went to voice mail. I closed my eyes and searched my familial bonds. Godric and Pamela were both still alive. I wished I had a bond with Rasul so I could determine his status, but I would have to wait for word on him. The agents and I watched the news coverage for about fifteen more minutes. The palace was all but destroyed, and so far no bodies had been found. Of course, there would be no body _to_ find if Rasul had been killed. I clung to the fact that Pamela was not truly dead.

At long last, Fintan and Godric popped back into my office. They were both covered in soot, but otherwise they were unharmed. I blurted, "Rasul?"

Godric smiled, "he is safe. We just barely got there in time. He and Pamela are hidden at a safe house in New Orleans. I told him to stay hidden until we figured out what to do."

I let out a totally unnecessary sigh of relief, sat down in my chair, and rubbed my face with my hands. I noticed that both agents were smiling in relief also. I asked, "should we let The Authority know of his safety?"

Godric shook his head, "are we sure that Victor has no spies in The Authority?" I shook my head. "Then we wait. Right now Victor thinks he has proven his case to you. That gives us an advantage that we need to figure out how to exploit. Rasul and Pam will remain safe in the interim." The agents and I nodded our heads.

I wanted to thank Fintan, but knew I had to word it carefully, so I opted for formality and stood, "your highness, I am most appreciative of your help in this. Together we will keep both our families safe." I bowed my head to him, and he smiled and returned the gesture.

The agents rose together and Homeland Security said, "gentlemen, we will take our leave of you now. We have a lot of people to secretly inform and secret plans to put into action."

I started to tell them goodbye, but then I had a thought. I picked up the desk phone and asked the bartender if Clancy was on duty. He was. I didn't think it would be a good idea for the government agents to be seen by him leaving my office. "Hold on a minute, please," I told them. "Godric, Clancy is working the door. Do you think you could go and get the agents' car and drive it around to the back?" He nodded. They were looking at me for an answer, "the spy I told you about… I don't want him to see you leaving my office." They both made noises like 'ah' and 'oh' to show their understanding.

FBI reached into his pocket for his keys and handed them to Godric, "it is a black Crown Victoria," he began, and couldn't help but think that of course it was. He continued by describing the general area where it was parked. He added, "you can drive, right?" I guess they'd never seen him drive, or they thought of him as some mystical throw-back to another era.

Godric tilted his head and smirked, "since cars were invented." He slipped out the back door to get the car.

FBI turned and looked at me, and I must have had a look of incredulity on my face. He shrugged and said, "I'd never seen him in a car. He seems so dalai lama wise. I… I have no idea why I felt the need to ask."

Homeland Security looked at him and asked, "have you ever watched NCIS?" FBI nodded, and Homeland Security whacked him on the back of the head.

FBI's eyes got really wide, he rubbed the back of his head, and then he cracked up laughing. "I guess I deserved that." Homeland Security nodded with exaggeratedly big nods.

I looked at them, "gentlemen, your chariot awaits… "

As they were exiting my office Homeland Security turned to me, "keep us posted if anything else comes up."

"Will do." Once they were gone I turned to Fintan. "Is there anything you need, Fintan?"

He walked over and sat down on the sofa, "another glass of red wine would be greatly appreciated." I called and ordered the drink for him.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and I called out "enter."

And to my surprise, Clancy walked in carrying a glass of red wine, "good evening, Sheriff. You ordered a glass of wine?" I thought directly to Fintan, 'this is the spy, you might want to think twice before drinking this.' I said out loud, "for my guest." And I gestured to Fintan. Clancy carried the glass over and set it on the coffee table.

He walked back to the side of my desk, "have you heard the news, Sheriff?"

"What news would that be, Clancy," I asked, knowing full well what he was about to tell me.

"The new Vampire Liaison Officer, Mr. al Basir, he was killed tonight," Clancy said with barely subdued relish.

I looked at Fintan, who had manufactured a look of concern on his face. I stood up and placed my back to Clancy. "That will be all, Clancy," I said.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

I took a deep, totally unnecessary breath and turned around, and assumed an emotionless façade, "and why wouldn't I be OK?"

Clancy held his hands up in front of him, "no reason, Sheriff. You just looked for a moment like the news meant something to you. I'll take my leave now."

"Yes, I think you should get back to your duties," I responded. I sat back down and looked straight ahead. A few overly long moments later Clancy exited the room. I rolled my eyes.

Fintan chuckled and said, "he was sent in here to find out how you would react to the news."

"Actually, I figured that one out for myself. What do you think he's going to report?"

"I can tell you exactly what he's going to report. He's going to say that you were a little unnerved by the news, but you tried to hide it. He believes that you found Victor's ability to deliver on his promise a little unbelievable. I'd say you played that just right. In fact, when I was watching you I thought you had missed your calling. You belong in Hollywood." We both laughed.

"You surprise me when you talk about things like Hollywood," I chuckled.

"I've lived in this realm, off and on for over fifty years. I've picked up a few things," he smiled.

I nodded and smiled myself, "yes, I suppose you have." I thought for a moment, "how do you recommend I respond to Victor when he calls tomorrow night?"

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Special, special, oh so special thanks to all who reviewed since the last posting, as of 10/12/17: jazzma18, princessspot5, Guest, Casey8686, bttrflybelle, hummingbirdgrrl, casedeputy, Jfozz, grammysharbear2, Duckbutt, Asami's clown, ljhjelm49, MsNorthman, The Vikings Succubus, VampMad50, FlowerChild23, tleel, jappeth, ericlover69, jackie69, Medtran, pattyfullwood, Perfecta999, ciasteczko, elliebaby33


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45 – Gallop Apace Ye Fiery Footed Steed

 _Last time:_

" _I can tell you exactly what he's going to report. He's going to say that you were a little unnerved by the news, but you tried to hide it. He believes that you found Victor's ability to deliver on his promise a little unbelievable. I'd say you played that just right. In fact, when I was watching you I thought you had missed your calling. You belong in Hollywood." We both laughed._

" _You surprise me when you talk about things like Hollywood," I chuckled._

" _I've lived in this realm, off and on for over fifty years. I've picked up a few things," he smiled._

 _I nodded and smiled myself, "yes, I suppose you have." I thought for a moment, "how do you recommend I respond to Victor when he calls tomorrow night?"_

Now:

"Truthfully?" he asked and I nodded. "I think you should do exactly as he suggested. Be suitably impressed." He was right, of course. "Are you just going to wait around for him to call you tonight?"

I shook my head, "no, actually tonight is date night for Sookie and me. I have reservations at a local theatre company to _A Midsummer Night's Dream._ "

Fintan smiled, "ah, Shakespeare's version of fairies. I know it well."

I chuckled, "why am I not surprised?" And then a thought struck me, "I told Sookie I'd call her about Rasul, hold on."

I quickly dialed her number and she answered after only one ring, "Eric? Is Rasul OK?"

"I was just calling to tell you that he is fine. It was indeed an assassination attempt by Victor Madden. He wanted to prove his might to me by solving what he thought was a problem of mine. It turns out that his spy told him everything. Godric and Fintan got to him and Pam just in time. They are in a safe house in New Orleans playing dead right now."

"Oh thank God. I was so worried," she sighed. "Will you be home soon?"

"Not too much longer. You go ahead and go to bed. Do you want me to wake you when I get home?"

"Normally I would say no, but I feel the need to talk tonight, OK?" she asked.

"I'll see you in a little while. I love you," I added.

"Love you too. See you in a bit," she said and hung up.

I looked over at Fintan, and he was shaking his head. "What?" I asked.

"I know you probably can't help it, but do you have to think of my granddaughter as naked when you are speaking to her? It's really quite disturbing."

I just looked at him for a moment before I cracked up laughing. "I didn't even realize I was doing that. Hmm… You might want to stay out of my head when I'm talking to her in the future." He nodded and smiled.

"Duly noted," he responded.

Godric returned to my office, and I updated him about Clancy. He had a few thoughts about my reaction to Victor's impending call, "he took no care to protect your child. As far as he knows, she perished with Rasul. That gives you some options."

Fintan nodded, "that's a very good point. So add suitably pissed to suitably impressed." I raised my eyebrow at his use of the vernacular. He shrugged, "Jason…" was all he said by way of explanation. It was enough.

I mulled all of that over, "what does that gain me?"

Godric answered quickly, "he will need to make huge concessions to repair the damage. We need to think of what we want to ask for."

I smiled. This was what Godric had always taught me: to think several steps ahead of my foe. What could I ask for to give us an edge? The key was to ask for something he wouldn't want to give.

Godric began, "First thing we ask for is some kind of assurance that his plan will work. We already have a map of his forces and an outline of the attacks with a limited time-table that he doesn't know about. However, his plans could have changed since Freyda witnessed whatever she saw. So you ask for evidence of an all-encompassing plan. After all, you don't want to jump into something that is doomed to fail."

Fintan added, "second, you ask for a more exalted position than a general in his army. That may help us figure out how his power base is structured. Whatever position he ultimately decides to offer you will need to be explained. If it isn't, you demand an explanation of how you would fit into the power structure. In other words, who you would answer to and who would answer to you."

"Also," Godric continued, "you would want assurances of the positions, safety, etc. of Jason and Sookie. If you don't at least make a fuss about that, he will be suspicious."

These were very good ideas. "Any chance I could ask him to kill Freyda for me?" I asked. We all chuckled at that thought.

Fintan stood, "actually, I'm hoping she survives all of this. I want to take care of her myself." The look on his face was absolutely deadly. I could only imagine the pictures Freyda must have had in her mind regarding the fate of Sookie. It was the only way I could account for Fintan's fierce attitude toward her.

I stood to go home, "again Fintan, your help here is most appreciated."

He stood as well, "I think I'm going to be staying in this realm for the foreseeable future. I trust you, but I want to make sure for myself that my grandchildren remain safe. If you need me, simply call Adele." With that he popped out.

Godric looked at me, "I am going to hang out in the club tonight. I want to keep an eye on Clancy."

I nodded, "well, I have a beautiful woman waiting in my bed at home; I'm heading there." Godric smiled and nodded.

When I got home, both Sookie and Clovache were sitting in the living room talking. Sookie immediately ran to my arms. I saw Clovache smile briefly then head upstairs. I looked at the clock over the mantle, and it was almost 1:30 a.m.

"What are you doing up so late? You'll be so tired tomorrow," I said with concern.

She smiled up at me, "well, just like you don't need to sleep for the day, I am finding I don't need as much sleep at night. I mean, I still need sleep, just not as much."

"That's the best news I've heard all night," I smiled back at her.

She took my hand and led us to the sofa, where we sat. I reached over to pull her to me again, and she put up a hand to stop me. What's this? I thought. I understand that we couldn't have sex this morning so that she could get to work on time, but why can't we have it tonight?

She chuckled and said, "get that look off your face. We can have some Sookie nookie after you tell me everything that happened tonight. And don't leave out anything."

"Are you sure you can't read my mind," I smiled.

She laughed and said, "ok, spill."

So I laid it all out for her, from Fintan's arrival to his departure tonight. It took me more than an hour because I wanted to leave nothing out. I even told her the demands that I would make of Victor in recompense for the loss of my child. She said she may think of something to add to that list, and I had no doubt her whirring, wonderful mind would come up with something interesting.

After all had been reported she looked at me for a moment, and then finally said, "so are we going to have sex or what?"

I couldn't help laughing because I ALWAYS wanted to have sex with her, "oh yes, you don't have to ask me twice." I pulled her to me, her legs straddled my waist, and she put her arms around my neck. "Do you want to go downstairs?" I asked. She shook her head. "Do you want to have sex right here?" She nodded. Well, alrighty then.

We christened the living room with great enthusiasm. We finally made our way downstairs to our bed, and made love again. By now it was well after four in the morning. She must have noticed that I had looked at the clock because she told me not to worry, that she'd be fine.

"In addition to work, we have date night to look forward to; I want you to enjoy it," I told her.

She smiled, "I'm going to get at least four hours sleep, and believe it or not, I think that will be more than enough. I guess you aren't the only one getting a break from our daily rest requirements."

I tilted my head, "maybe we'll be like the sparkly vampires, and we'll never need sleep at all," I said in all seriousness. She looked seriously at me and then just cracked up, and I joined her. By the gods, my Sookie was just so much fun. I never knew before how pleasurable laughing was. Sookie had a philosophy about that. She would say that she thought that God must have a great sense of humor; otherwise, why would he make laughing so pleasurable? I must admit that, even though her God was a stranger to me, I had to agree. I had never indulged myself with laughter before. Sure, an occasional smirk, grin, or on rare occasions a chuckle. But outright frequent laughter? Never. And now I felt rather ridiculous for denying myself something so basic and simple.

In fact, I was beginning to think that the emotionless façade of the vampire was asinine. And I could tell that Godric, who had taught me that façade, was feeling this rather momentous shift as well. I was still just as much a vampire as I'd ever been, but now I was just so much… _more_. I smiled at the thought of personal evolution. Who knew where it would end?

Sookie had fallen asleep fairly fast. I hoped that she was right about her sleep needs and didn't get too tired tomorrow. I watched her sleep for a while, and then I got up and attended to emails and other business. I especially listened to the phone recordings between Victor and Clancy that Raphael's surveillance equipment provided. And just as Fintan said, Clancy reported my reaction to the news of Rasul's death almost verbatim. At some point it occurred to me that I had been up for nearly forty-eight hours. But I felt fine. In fact, I had never felt better in my long life.

I picked up the remote, made sure the sound was turned down, and looked for something to watch. I was having trouble finding anything to watch other than infomercials. Finally, I turned the TV off and ran upstairs to the library, found the complete works of Shakespeare and came back downstairs. I thought I would re-read _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ in anticipation of seeing it tonight. Reading it again was an indulgence with the vampire gift of perfect recall and all. However, I was feeling a little self-indulgent at the moment.

This particular play of Mr. Shakespeare's was especially familiar to me. It turns out that the perfect profession of a vampire is acting – due to that perfect-recall. During the early eighteenth century, while I was out hunting one night, I came upon an itinerant, touring theatrical company in rural western England. One of their main actors had fallen ill and was unable to perform. If they couldn't produce their play, they would not get paid, and consequently wouldn't be able to afford food to eat. I had been about to feed on one of the actors when I learned of their plight.

I asked about the role – Oberon, king of the fairies. That sounded intriguing, so I asked to read the script. I had seen the play in London when it debuted in the sixteenth century, but re-reading the script at that time was all I needed to refresh my memory of that earlier performance. After glancing at the script, I informed their manager that I was familiar with the role and could fill in for the evening. The looks in all their eyes were so hopeful, and I remember feeling like I could really do something to help these people. We ran through the scenes once very quickly, and they were impressed that I knew all the lines. That night I performed the role to a full house in the village's common hall. It was an amazing experience – to be so in the public eye, to be speaking the poetry of Mr. Shakespeare, and to be a part of a tight-knit team in the performance. Up until I met Sookie, it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Every time I spent time with Fintan, a part of my brain would harken back to playing the king of the fairies. While the fairies in the play were a creation of the imagination, they weren't that far off the mark from the real thing. Just more evidence that Mr. Shakespeare was a genius. I'd read once that a well-educated person had about forty thousand words in his or her vocabulary, but there were more than one hundred thousand different words in the plays and poems of Shakespeare.

Soon, I heard Sookie's alarm clock going off. And just like the day before, I was sitting at my desk as she sat up in bed. "Eric? You're still up? You haven't been down for over two days, are you sure you're OK?" she asked.

I smiled at her, "I'm fine, my love. Do you feel rested?"

"Yeah, I'm OK. But I'm worried about you. Come lay down for a minute please."

I looked at her, "Sookie, I'm fine."

"Please, just humor me…" she pleaded. I walked over to the bed and lay down next to her. She crawled into my arms and I just held her. "I don't have long, but it feels good to lay in your arms like this."

I agreed. I closed my eyes for a moment. I focused on a beautiful field that had wildflowers growing all over it. It was just like a field near the village I grew up in. The sun was so bright it was almost blinding. It must be a deep summer day. I started running through the field, and I looked to my side and my brother and sister were running with me. We were all running with the carefree abandon of happy children. We got to the forest on the other side of the field and made our way to the creek that supplied our village with fresh water. When we got there we stripped off all our clothes and jumped in to enjoy the warm summer day. We splashed each other over and over again, and I laughed until my sides hurt.

My eyes popped open. I stared at the ceiling for a few moments, feeling slightly… foggy. What was that? I looked to my left where Sookie should be, but she wasn't there. Finally, I looked at the clock. It was one thirty-four in the afternoon. I looked back at the ceiling. Did I just have a dream? No, it couldn't be. There were no dreams in vampire day death. What the hell? I must have been… sleeping. But… I hadn't _slept_ in over a thousand years. I sat up in the bed with my knees up. I looked all around me because I felt as if something entirely new had happened. I put my elbows on my knees and rubbed my face. What the hell was happening to me?

After a few minutes, my phone was ringing. I answered it, "Northman."

"Eric, are you OK?" Sookie asked.

"Uhmm, yeah, I'm fine," I answered still feeling disoriented. "What happened this morning?"

There was the slightest pause before she chuckled and said, "you laid down next to me, and then…"

I waited for her to finish that sentence, but she didn't, "and then what?"

"You were just out. Like you were just suddenly sound asleep," she answered. "That's why I'm calling. I didn't want to leave you this morning without knowing what happened, but it got later and later, and I needed to go to work. So, you're OK right?"

I paused for a minute, trying to determine that I was in fact all right, "yeah, I'm OK. I think I actually slept. I mean, I haven't slept for a thousand years. Vampire day death is not sleeping, but today I slept. Not only did I sleep, but I also dreamed. It's very disconcerting."

"What do you think this means, Eric?" Sookie asked.

"I have no idea, my Sookie. I haven't seen my brother and sister for a thousand years. But in my dream I saw them as clearly as if I'd seen them yesterday," I said.

"That's kind of cool, don't you think?" she asked.

"That is so far beyond cool that I don't even have the words for it. I don't know what's going on, but I can't complain about it," I confessed. "How are you feeling?"

I could hear the smile in her voice, "I'm just fine and dandy. It's kind of amazing that I just don't need that much sleep any more."

I chuckled myself, "well, don't forget that tonight is date night. We have tickets to the theatre. Are you going to be OK?"

"Ooohh, the theatre? I can't wait. What are we going to see?" she asked.

"Shakespeare," I answered.

"Really? I'm so excited. I've been wanting to learn more about him," she responded.

"Well, hurry home. I can't wait to see you, my love," I smiled.

"I'll be home as soon as I can. I'm looking forward to the play. Thank you, Eric. You think of the best things to do," she said.

"It's a local theatre company I've never been to before, but hopefully they'll do a good job with the play," I said.

"Are they professional or amateur?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure they aren't getting paid. So I guess that makes them amateur. But I've read good things about this particular group."

"Either way, I'm looking forward to it. See you when I get home," she said.

"See you soon," I said before hanging up. I threw my phone onto the bed next to me. I rolled out of bed and stretched. I did that every day, but for some reason the stretches felt especially good today. I guess that was one of the differences between sleep and day death. I would have to remember to tell Godric about all these changes I was going through. With all the Victor crap going on, I hadn't even thought to mention any of it to him. I was pretty sure he wouldn't know any more about it than I did, but together we may come up with some insights. At the very least he may have some ideas about how I could best use the extra awake time. For today, I would just watch TV.

I tuned into CNN and there was extensive coverage on the assassination of Rasul. There were commentaries from representatives of the government as well as Nan Flanagan speaking on behalf of the AVL and The Authority. There was some debate over whether this had been a hate crime or an act of terrorism. Apparently, the part of the government preparing for Victor's upcoming 'revolution' were keeping quiet on this attack, as they should.

I thought that at this point it would be prudent to start making a list of my allies. As I had told Freyda, I had been around long enough that I literally had friends in almost every state in the country. I would discuss this list with Godric before I, or we, did anything. The gods only knew how many of these people could be allies of Victor's. However, this list might make the difference between the success of Victor's plans and the defeat of them.

I also knew that the closer we came to the day Victor would launch his plans, the more scrutiny I would be under by his spy network. In fact, I was surprised that he hadn't figured out yet what I had been doing with the government agents, but I was not naïve enough to think that he wouldn't find out eventually, if I weren't extremely careful. The moment I agreed to join him, if that was the direction I took, everything I did would be monitored. At any rate, I decided that I wouldn't take any calls from Victor until after tonight's date. After all, he still had to answer for the death of my child. I smirked as I figured out exactly how I wanted that to play out.

After dosing up on the three J's, Judge Judy and Jeopardy, answering any emails that required response, and looking after my investments, I thought it was finally time to start getting ready for my date to the theatre. I started to hop in the shower, but then I remembered that Sookie would want to shower before going out, so I decided to wait and share one with her. Instead I went into my closet and picked what I was going to wear, and then I went into her closet and picked out something for her to wear. I smiled as I lay our clothes for the evening across the end of the bed.

Then I went upstairs to make her a cocktail to welcome her home. I was somewhat surprised to notice that the sun was not entirely down yet. I had to wonder: why did my body tell me it was OK to come up? The sun was very low on the horizon, but it was still up. I immediately started to go back downstairs, but I thought I'd risk it. I walked directly to the western-facing windows and just stood there watching the sunset. I slid my hand into a weak beam of sunlight. Nothing happened. What the fuck?! I was still standing there long after it was full dark and Sookie had apparently come home. I only knew she was home because she was shaking me and calling my name with a bit of alarm. I just turned my head and looked at her in wonder.

"Eric, are you all right?" she asked still alarmed. I noticed Clovache hovering in the doorway behind her. "Eric, talk to me," she demanded.

"I just watched the sunset," I said.

"What?" she asked.

"I just watched the sunset, Sookie. I even held my hand directly into the light. Nothing happened."

"Eric, what is going on; you don't sound like yourself," she held my face.

"I'd say that I might be in a little shock. I haven't seen the sun for over a thousand years, and I just watched a sunset. Don't you get it? Sookie, I just saw the fucking sun set."

She was silent for a moment, and then a wide smile broke across her face, "Oh Eric, that is so great. Maybe you are immune to the sun now."

I just nodded and turned to look where the sunset had been, "I had intended to try an experiment at one point to see if that were so, but this was just … happenstance. I just came upstairs to make you a welcome home drink, and noticed that the sun hadn't set yet." I looked at her, "it was so beautiful."

Suddenly I turned and grabbed her to me, "I love you so much, my Sookie, my miracle."

She giggled, "do you think you are a day-walker now? I mean, might there be a limit to how much sun you can take?"

"I don't know and I don't care. You gave me the sun today. That's all I can think about right now," I answered rubbing my hands up and down her back.

"Do you want to cancel our date tonight?" she asked.

I was coming back to myself, and I pulled back, "absolutely not. However, I never did make your drink."

She smiled, "that's OK. I need to hop in the shower and get ready."

I smiled in return, "and that is why I have waited to take a shower myself." I waggled my eyebrows at her.

"Well, let's go. We don't want to be late for the theatre."

I made sure that I thanked her properly for my miracle while we were in the shower. She liked the outfit I'd picked for her to wear, and soon we were on our way to see the play. When we were in the lobby before the show I asked if she'd like a glass of wine since I had been too stupefied to make her drink when she came home. She said yes and I went to get her drink. While I was waiting for the bartender to pour her drink, I looked over at her, and she looked so lovely in the yellow dress I'd picked out for her. A young man started talking to her, and I immediately wanted to kill. She was polite but apparently she said something that made him walk away. I soon returned with her wine, and she smiled and thanked me.

She was just taking a sip when I asked, "so, what did that young man want?"

She chuckled, "I figured you saw that. He just asked me if I liked Shakespeare. I told him that I regretted being fairly unfamiliar with him, but that I was glad that my fiancé was making sure that I became better acquainted."

I just looked at her for a moment, and then I smiled, "Excellent." I bent down and kissed her; of course men approached her; she was glorious. I would approach her if I didn't know her already. One of the things that made her so endearing was that she seemed to be so unaware of how attractive she was to the opposite sex. She wasn't insecure, just unaware.

Her timing was excellent because just as she finished her wine, we entered the theatre and the play began. Before the show, there was an announcement to turn off all cell phones which was great since I didn't want to talk to Victor until I was ready. The play was an interesting production. For all of the human characters, it was set in modern day corporate America, with the young maiden Hermia being bartered by her father to a husband in some giant business merger. The fairies were all costumed in what I believe was called 'steampunk'. I had to admit that it was engaging. I always thought that the genius of Shakespeare was that even though the language was written in verse, his plots and characters were timeless and universal.

I wasn't surprised that Sookie was full of questions at the intermission. But I could tell that overall she was really enjoying the performance. The company was doing a pretty decent job, and they had moments that were genuinely funny.

After the play I took Sookie to another restaurant for another meal that had her making her sexy yummy noises, and we talked and talked about the play and Shakespeare in general. This conversation with Sookie was just as stimulating as I imagined it would be after a Shakespeare performance. As much as I wanted to take her home and ravage her after enduring those sexy sounds she made while eating, I explained to her that I needed to go by Fangtasia. I had explained to her that after all that we had learned last night, it was now time that we played our parts in this little political drama. I told her that I needed to be sad at the loss of my child in order for my plan to work, but that she had insisted on accompanying me to Fangtasia out of concern for my mental well-being.

We sat in my booth, and I assumed an attitude of stoic reserve. Basically I just stared out at the crowd. Maxwell Lee came over and played his part to perfection, "Master, I'm so sorry about your child. Is there anything you need me to do for you?" I shook my head. "If you need anything, just let me know." I nodded. He walked away and motioned for a waitress to come over to take our drink order.

The waitress, Miranda, came over, "Master, what… what… I mean… " and then she just started sobbing. After a moment, she collected herself, "I'm so sorry. I'm going to miss Miss Pam. I'm sorry, what can I bring you?" Perfect, I thought I couldn't have scripted it better myself, and I saw Clancy watching out of the corner of my eye. We ordered our drinks – red wine for Sookie and Royalty Blended for me – and Miranda went to the bar.

Sookie was whispering silly things in my ear. She was trying to say things that would crack my mourning resolve. Some of them were outright hilarious, but she didn't count on my millennium of practice with the stoic façade. Occasionally I would lean over and whisper an explicit sexual proposition in her ear. She would always cover her face which worked well with our performance.

After a while we started whispering about our upcoming honeymoon. We had already decided to delay it until after her Masters orals. I was telling her all about Venice, and she was getting more excited. Finally she said, "I hope this is just the first of many places we'll go together."

I did give a slight smile to her, "We the globe can compass soon, swifter than the wandering moon."

"Is that Shakespeare?" she asked.

"Not only is it Shakespeare, it is from the play we saw tonight. I'm going to take you all over this globe, my Sookie.

"I can't wait," she agreed. She seemed to think something over for a moment and said, "how much longer do we have to be here?"

"I wanted to make sure that Clancy saw me in my grief so he can report that to Victor. We've accomplished that. Are you ready to go?"

"Not quite. There's something else I want to do here," she looked at me.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" I asked.

"I want to go downstairs and talk to Freyda," she kissed me on my temple. I couldn't help the smirk that emerged.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Special thanks to all who reviewed since the last chapter was posted, I think it was the most ever, as of 10/17/17: grammysharbear2, ljhjelm49, 2 Guests, VampMad50, MsNorthman, hummingbirdgrrl, Jfozz, elliebaby33, jackie69, Casey8686, FlowerChild23, princessspot5, sweetcoffee, tleel, Duckbutt, Perfecta999, ericlover69, Nicolle1977, bttrflybelle, casedeputy, CarolinaGirl96, ciasteczko, autumnchild25, Asami's clown

The title of this chapter is a line that Juliet speaks about the impending sunset on her wedding night (fiery footed steed is a metaphor for the sun). It seemed appropriate for the chapter.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46 – Expendable

 _Last time:_

" _I can't wait," she agreed. She seemed to think something over for a moment and said, "how much longer do we have to be here?"_

" _I wanted to make sure that Clancy saw me in my grief so he can report that to Victor. We've accomplished that. Are you ready to go?"_

" _Not quite. There's something else I want to do here," she looked at me._

" _And what, pray tell, is that?" I asked._

" _I want to go downstairs and talk to Freyda," she kissed me on my temple. I couldn't help the smirk that emerged._

Now:

"Grab your purse; let's go to my office," I said. We got out of the booth and walked to the back hall and to my office. I locked the door, and took Sookie to the secret back entrance to the basement, or as Pam called it, the dungeon. We quietly descended the stairs until Sookie was standing in front of Freyda's cell.

"Holy cats! She looks awful. Why is she covered in blood?" Sookie whispered. Freyda was seated on the floor in front of the cot in her cell.

"That would be the work of your grandfather," I admitted.

Sookie turned to me and asked, "my granddaddy did this?"

"With only his mind," I said.

"Wow."

"You two know I can hear you," Freyda interjected.

"Only his mind?" Sookie repeated, still whispering, and I nodded. "Well, good gravy, let's get her cleaned up." She walked over to a sink in the corner and soaked a washcloth. "Hand this to her, will you?" She was smart not to try to hand it to her herself.

I took the wet rag from her and held it through the bars of the cell. Freyda made no move to accept it. I let it drop with a splat on the floor inside the cell.

Sookie moved to remove the two-feet by three-feet mirror over the sink, "honey, you really need to clean yourself up." She held the mirror up so that Freyda could get a good look at herself. Finally she set the mirror on the floor against the bars of the cell.

Freyda cut her eyes to the mirror, "fuck!" she exclaimed.

Sookie nodded, "see, honey, I told you. I'm just trying to do you a favor. You look really awful."

"Why the hell do you care?" Freyda asked.

"If I'm honest with myself, I don't really. But Eric told me you were pretty, and I know that pretty girls usually have at least a modicum of vanity. I thought _you_ might care, and I'm a nice person," Sookie shrugged.

Freyda grabbed the wash rag from the floor and started scrubbing the blood off of her face, neck, chest, etc. "So," she said as she was wiping away, "you are the little fairy princess that has bewitched my Eric."

Sookie chuckled, "you might want to take a little more care with your pronouns. Eric has never been, nor will he ever be yours. I'm the only one who is entitled to say 'my Eric'."

Freyda snorted, "and just why do you think you have that right exclusively?"

"Because it was gifted to me by my fiancé," Sookie confessed.

"Fiance?" Freyda shrieked. Well, the cat was out of the bag now on that, I thought. "You said that you didn't want to get married!"

I shook my head, "no Freyda, I said I didn't want to get married to _you._ " She gasped, and I went on, "I very much look forward to marrying my Sookie."

Freyda just stared at me for a moment and then a smile crossed her face, "nice tactic… to keep your fairy in line."

Sookie smiled, and I laughed, "Victor said the same thing." By now Freyda had cleaned most of the blood off herself.

"There, now you look a lot better," Sookie smiled.

"A lot you care," Freyda spit out.

"Actually, I don't really care, but I wanted to talk to you, and you just looked too gross," Sookie said. Freyda crossed her arms in front of her. Sookie continued, "I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to make sure you understood where you stand with Eric. I mean, he's tried to tell you many times, but you either didn't believe him, didn't care, or were too stupid to catch a clue. There will be no mistaking with me. ERIC IS MINE! You think vampires are territorial? Fairies are even more so. You've met my grandfather, so you know what we are capable of."

Freyda scoffed, "what are you going to do, little girl? Are you going to kill me?"

Sookie shook her head and chuckled, "no, Freyda _, I'm_ not going to kill you. But with one phone call, I can have five fairy assassins here in a matter of seconds. You might call that one of the perks of being _actual_ royalty."

"Royal, my ass," Freyda said under her breath, but we both heard it.

"Yes, royal. My grandfather, the one who made you bleed? He's the high prince and heir to the throne of the sky fae. His father, my great-grandfather, is Prince Niall Brigant." We both saw recognition in Freyda's eyes. "That makes me royal by blood, not by random edict or declaration. In any event, the vampires have outlawed all of their monarchies, so you're not even what we fairies called fake-royalty anymore," my Sookie declared without ever losing that sweet tone to her voice. She was so poised, and I was so proud of her.

Freyda just looked at her and smirked, "When all is said and done, I'll be queen again. Just you wait. And Eric will be mine; he's been promised to me."

Sookie tilted her head to the side a little, "I'm sorry, when did Eric become an object that someone else could promise? I think you'll find that Eric might have something to say about that." Sookie laughed, "yeah, that would be the only way you could have Eric – if you somehow managed to enslave him. But frankly, I have a little trouble imagining _anyone_ with that capability." I smirked behind her. "And oh, how he would hate you if you could somehow arrange that."

"You're awfully sure of yourself, aren't you little fairy? Just what did you offer him to get him to agree to marry you?" Freyda asked. I shook my head because she was still misguidedly fixated on what to offer to get me to marry her.

"Offer him?" Sookie asked sounding confused. "I didn't offer him anything." She thought for a moment, "no, that's not true. I offered him all of myself and all of my undying love. That's all."

Freyda laughed in disbelief, but then she must have noted the sincerity on Sookie's face. Then she looked at me. "You are really in love with her?" I nodded. "Love? You're telling me the great Eric Northman, the Viking warrior, is in love?"

I smirked and nodded, "head over heels." I put my arms around Sookie, pulled her back against my chest, and kissed the top of her head. She placed her hands on my arms in front of her.

"You two think you have it all figured out don't you. You're just ready to begin your happily ever after. No one gets that, you fools," Freyda all but spat at us.

"We will," Sookie said with absolute certainty. "You know why?" She waited for a response from Freyda who only tilted her head and raised her eyebrow in incredulity. Sookie continued, "because… we are such stuff that dreams are made on…" She giggled, and turned her face up to me, "you see, I actually did know a quote from Mr. Shakespeare."

I threw my head back and laughed, "have you been trying all night to work that into conversation?"

"No," she jokingly elbowed me in the ribs. "It popped into my head just then, you big goof. To be honest, I've never really known what it means until this very moment." I laughed again, bent down and kissed her briefly on the lips.

"I think I may be sick," Freyda intoned.

Sookie turned back to look at her with a smile, "well good, my work here is done." Through all of the exchanges, Sookie had maintained her sweet disposition. Never once did she sound even slightly annoyed or irritated. And through our bond I could feel that she wasn't feeling those things either. I guess that goes back to that whole idea of her inherited self-confidence that I had ruminated on earlier. Plus I had made sure that she knew in no uncertain terms that I was hers.

"Aren't you going to control your little human? I don't care if she is part fairy, part royal fairy, or part of the linoleum, are you going to let her talk to a queen that way?" Freyda shrieked.

Sookie looked up at me, "she is dumber than a post, isn't she?" I chuckled and shook my head.

"I AM NOT DUMB!" Freyda screamed.

"All evidence to the contrary," Sookie said under her breath. And then she added, "can the vampires up in the club hear her when she screeches like that?"

"No, my love. This basement is sound-proofed, and that cell even has wards on it to block anyone who might be able to trace her through the blood."

"Good thinking," she smiled at me. "Can we go home now?"

"You've been to his home? You know where he lives?" Freyda asked stunned.

Sookie chuckled, "well, I should, since I live there too." She looked up at me, and I smiled back at her. Freyda looked aghast. Now, just maybe _now_ she would truly get it.

"Good night, Freyda," Sookie said as we were leaving. "I'd say 'pleased to meet you', but I hate lying to someone I've just met."

After we arrived home Sookie was still chuckling. "I kind of feel sorry for her. I mean, she doesn't have the sense God gave a squirrel, but she really has an apparently incurable thing for you. She's just so pathetic."

"Do not waste your sympathy or your pity on Freyda. She would kill you in a heartbeat if she had the chance," I told her.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," Sookie replied. "Why don't we just make sure she never gets the chance."

I smiled, "sounds like a plan." I kissed her, and she fully reciprocated. We nearly stumbled down the stairs to our underground because we refused to let go of each other's lips. We bounced onto the bed, and started laughing. Through joint efforts we had each other naked at record speed, and I was in her with one swoop. Once I had pushed all the way in, we just paused to enjoy the bliss of being fully connected. That shared bliss was an unbelievable sensation as it bounced back and forth between us in our bond. It was almost as good as orgasms – to feel so one with another person, with my Sookie. And the beauty of it all was that I could always tell just when Sookie was ready to move forward in the lovemaking. So I started moving, my face just centimeters from hers. I loved this shared eye contact when we together like this. She reached up and put her hand on the side of my face, and my eyes closed for a moment in sheer ecstasy.

Shortly I began to kiss down the side of her face, kissed her lips, and moved to nuzzling and licking her neck. I reached over to the drawer in the bedside table and pulled out a dagger I had put there earlier. I raised my head just long enough to make eye contact with her once again, cut a slice into my neck and returned to bite her neck. She didn't hesitate to latch onto my wound, and we drank from each other in perfect synchronicity – another amazing sensation. When I'd drunk my fill and healed the bite, I sighed, "gods, but I love you my Sookie. Thank you for loving me."

She sighed breathily in return, "you're very, very welcome, my Eric." I chuckled at my saucy wench. I continued to move inside her, and she met me thrust for thrust. When we finally came together we were greeted by that yellow blast of light again. In the aftermath, we discussed all the possible meanings of that light. But everything we came up with was only speculation.

"I don't suppose you could ask your grandfather what it means," I asked.

She giggled, "oh yeah, I can just imagine that conversation, 'hey granddaddy, when Eric and I are having our orgasms while having sex, there's this bright light. Just what is that?'"

I laughed with her, "I'm sure your grandfather knows we are having sex, Sookie."

"Yeah, but there's knowing and then there's talking about it – with your granddaughter."

"Can you ask Jason?" I wondered.

"Are you kidding me? At the thought of me having sex, Jason would just stick his fingers in his ears and start blathering at the top of his lungs. I'm afraid we're on our own for this one," she said. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think it's anything bad."

We talked for a little more and then made love a few more times before Sookie finally fell asleep. It was only then that I turned my phone back on. I'd left it off because I was determined to give Sookie an uninterrupted date night. When I looked at my phone I noticed I had four missed calls from an unidentified number. Good. Victor was surely impatient by now.

Since I had turned my phone back on, I decided to wait for Victor's call up on the main floor. I didn't want to disturb Sookie's sleep. I'd put on a pair of my black satin sleep pants, gone to the den in back and turned on the television. Instead of turning on the channel guide, I just hit the remote from channel to channel. Infomercial, infomercial, sport recap show, infomercial, shopping channel, news feed, CSPAN, infomercial, cartoons, M*A*S*H*, Law and Order, weather channel, Law and Order SVU, Infomercial. Crap, was there nothing on that I wanted to watch? Aha, I landed on one of the classic movie channels and found one of the Erroll Flynn pirate movies. I'd really enjoyed those in the past. So I threw down the remote, put my feet up on the coffee table, and laid my head against the back of the sofa.

I'd watched the movie for about fifteen minutes when my phone rang. I looked at the screen and it was the same number as the missed calls; it must be Victor. I had prepared for this, so I just took a moment to gather myself before I hit record on my phone, and I answered solemnly, "Northman."

"Viking, _finally,_ " Victor said a little more subdued than I expected. "I understand that apologies are in order. It was never my intention to harm your child. For that, I offer my most sincere apologies."

I let a long pause settle between us before I answered, "that's it? that's all you have to say to me for the true death of my most precious child?" I stood up to pace so that I could give the proper inflection to my pretend outrage, "when I find you, Victor, I will give you the same… courtesy you gave my child."

Victor didn't hesitate with his retort, "but Viking, she had left you and taken side with your enemy. With the vampire who was usurping your rightful, hard-earned position in Louisiana. Surely you were angry with her for that."

I all but screamed at him, "that is none of your business. She was my child. She was not yours to kill."

There was a hint of satisfaction in Victor's voice when he said, "are you saying she was yours to kill?" I let a pause linger between us, and Victor continued, "I'm sorry, then, that I robbed you of that kill."

"That was not what I meant at all," I said.

He chuckled, "if you say so." What a fucking creep! Although, I was sure that instead of the word creep, modern psychology would use a different word. It suddenly occurred to me that Victor was way more dangerous than I'd given him credit for. Not only was he a megalomaniac, he was also a psychopath. Those were a couple of very powerful, very dangerous psychological descriptives.

Victor continued, "did I, or did I not come through for you?"

"I never asked you to do anything for me, Victor. I didn't ask you to kill Rasul, and I certainly didn't ask you to kill my Pamela."

"You didn't have to ask me. I knew how upset you were about certain situations, and I fixed them for you. You should be thanking me, Viking," he said with satisfaction. Gods, but I was starting to really hate this man. As if he could kill my child, and then gloat to me in such a way that I would actually not only join his merry band of anarchists, but also thank him for killing my child.

"Well, I am most assuredly NOT thanking you, Victor. Actually, I find it quite disturbing that you would expect that from me. YOU KILLED MY CHILD."

Victor huffed, "yes yes yes, I killed your child. We've covered that already. It's not like you can't make another child, for fuck's sake. And this child had betrayed you. I don't understand what you are so upset about."

"That's becoming more and more clear to me. Obviously, any children you've made are fungible. It's not like that for all makers."

"Fungible?" he asked.

I knew for a fact that English was his first language. "Look it up," I barked at him.

"Temper, temper, Viking. I told you that I would take care of your little problem, and I did. Quickly. Efficiently. I expected you to be more grateful, more impressed," Victor droned, just as I had wanted him to. I was maneuvering him into position to make my own demands.

"And I told you that I didn't have a problem, Victor," I said.

"And that would be a solid defense if you are ever confronted by The Authority. However, you won't be. Now… we need to come to terms," Victor said.

I huffed, "what terms could we possibly come to that compensate for the death of my child?"

"My God, Viking, you're playing a one string guitar. Get the fuck over it!" Victor exclaimed.

"Fuck you, Victor. Don't tell me what the fuck to do, you asshole. If I find you I will end you," I said, hoping I hadn't overplayed my hand. Maximum risk = maximum rewards, or at least I hoped so.

There was a very long pause before Victor spoke again, "ok, Viking, I get it. You are in mourning for your child. I've never been that close to my progeny, but I understand that some vampires are. What exactly do I need to do to make this right?"

Bingo! Now I could spell out my terms. I still found it grossly horrible that he had no care whatsoever for his own progeny, at least, he understood the grief of vampire makers with different relationships. "What do you mean, Victor?"

"I wanted to impress you, and I think I have. However, I admit that I also pissed you off. Tell me how to fix the situation so that I can have you and your two fairies on board," he admitted.

"You've never answered to my satisfaction, why do you want me?" I challenged.

"Viking, I know that you have friends/allies in every state in this country. If I were to totally change the power structure in this country, I would need their support. Otherwise, I would be fighting battles on too many fronts. In addition, your fairies would be able to tell me who was truthful, and control the emotions of those who were resistant to vampire control. In other words, if I have you, your allies, and your fairies with me, no one can stop me."

I let a long silence linger between us. Finally I asked, "what do you want from me? And, Victor, be specific."

"You hand over your fairies for our use. Then you contact all of your allies to side with us," Victor said.

"First of all, I will never, as you say, hand over my fairies. My Sookie is my bonded, my beloved. You can't have her. And before you make snarky remarks about us, yes, we are in love. However, I may be able to negotiate their cooperation. In other words, I may be able to get them to use their skills for you. But, before I contact my allies, I need assurances that your plan is something they can get behind. I've spent a millennium gathering these allies; I won't betray them," I said. "I won't involve them in something that has no chance of success."

Victor offered, "well, I've shown you what I can do with the elimination of Rasul. What more proof do you need?"

"I admit that was impressive," I stroked his ego. "However, you are talking about something far greater than the elimination of one state's political leader. You are talking about not only going up against The Authority nationwide, but also the entire government of the United States. Do you have any idea how massive that idea is, Victor," I asked.

He chuckled, "I have exactly the idea of how massive this undertaking is."

"How do I know you have even a modicum of a chance for success?" I asked hoping he would be willing to share his entire plan with me.

"Well, you just have to trust me, don't you, Viking," Victor answered lazily.

"That's just it, Victor, I don't trust you," I responded. "Why should I?"

It was Victor's turn to pause in response. "What if I could show you the plan to take down not only The Authority, but also the government?"

I sat in silence for a few moments, "show me."

"If I show you, you are committed, agreed?" he asked.

"No way. What if what you show me is garbage?" I asked back.

"Fair enough. I will show you a part of my plan," Victor said.

"Not nearly good enough. It's the whole plan, or you move forward without me, my allies and my fairies," I told him. "I need to judge for myself that this whole cockamamie idea is going to work. And if it doesn't seem like it will then I will be supremely pissed that you killed my child for nothing." I felt it would be good to remind him of that fact once again. I needed him to feel as if he needed to prove something to me.

Again there was a long silence. Finally, Victor said, "give me an email address, and I'll send you an outline of the plans."

"An outline? Again, not nearly good enough. Either you share the entire plan with me, or we are done," I retorted.

"So, if I send you the entire plan, you are on board?" Victor asked.

"If it looks solvent," I added. "In addition, I would need to know my exact position in your regime. And, I would need assurances of the safety of Sookie and Jason Stackhouse. These are things I need, especially in light of the fact that you are responsible for the death of my child."

"You ask for a lot, Viking."

"You have a lot to atone for, Victor." I knew that in spite of my insistence, there was no way he would send me his entire plan. But there would probably be more than we had before. It would be incumbent upon me to find the flaws in his plan, which would mean he would have to reveal more and more to me. I also knew that once I gave him my secure email address, his cyber-flunkies would be monitoring what I sent out or copied. Luckily, I had hired the best cyber-flunkies ahead of time to make sure that I could do what I needed to do to get Victor's plans into the hands of the vampire and human authorities. As Godric had taught me, stay as many steps ahead of your opponent as you can.

Finally he responded, "very well. Give me your email address, and I will send you everything. It might be good to have an outside eye look over the plans. You might find flaws, but I doubt it." And with that thought he laughed. I don't think he had any idea how insane his cackling sounded. I had to remind myself that megalomaniacs with borderline sanity had changed the course of history in the past. And, fuck, imagine Hitler with the strength of a vampire. That was pretty much what we were dealing with in Victor. Plus, Hitler was mortal; Victor was not. The cataclysm that could ensue was the stuff of nightmares. It was simple – he had to be stopped. Did I think the world was perfect? Of course not; neither was it so bad. However, the world with Victor at the top of it was unthinkable.

I gave Victor my email address and told him, "I will look your plans over. If, and I repeat _if_ , I find them acceptable, I will let you know. How do I contact you? On the number from this call?"

"No, this is a burn phone. I will give you until the same time tomorrow to make up your mind. I realize that's not much time, but things are moving forward rapidly. So do whatever you have to do to review these plans as quickly as possible," he said.

That told me several things: first, there was no way he was sending me everything, second, as soon as I said yes, all of his plans would be put into immediate action, and third, whatever he sent me might not be his plan at all, but rather a trap to test my loyalty. "Let me get this straight, you've had years to put these plans together, and I have only a few hours to look them over and make a decision that could impact the rest of my life, if not history itself?"

"Yes," was all he said. There was a very long silence on the line, then Victor added, "are you still with me Viking? Dawn approaches, what is your answer?"

"What if I look over these plans and decide not to join you?" I asked.

"I strongly suggest that you not do that," Victor intoned.

"Is that a threat?" I asked.

"Hmmm, more like a warning. I'm moving forward with or without you. If you're not with me, then you are an enemy, and I will act accordingly," Victor did threaten. Before I could say anything else he added, "check your email, Viking." And with that, he hung up.

Wow, he wasn't playing around. Either I joined him or went onto his hit list. Well, I wasn't playing around either. An email from Raphael told me that he was still in the New Orleans area. I wasn't without resources myself. With a few taps on my phone I had forwarded the conversation to FBI, Homeland Security, The Authority, and Godric. I just hoped that whatever Victor had sent me was valuable in stopping him. Between what he would send me and what Fintan had been able to capture from Freyda's mind should give us enough to control the situation.

Raphael and I had prepared for this occasion in advance. Raphael had warned that whatever Victor sent me was likely to have a worm that could follow the content of the email. In other words, if I tried to copy or forward the information, someone on Victor's cyber team would know it. However, Raphael had provided me with a special flash drive he had designed that I would activate before I opened the email. This flash drive would automatically upload the files without a trace. Like I said, I wasn't without resources.

I opened the email attachments and sat back to read and learn. Holy fuck! As it turned out, Freyda only knew part of the plan. I knew that Raphael was receiving all of this information remotely and forwarding it on per my instructions. This plan was incredible. What was I going to do?

Mostly, I just wanted the government/military to stop all this in its tracks, but I was finding that more and more unlikely. I might have to play along with Victor, which I really, really didn't want to do. I especially didn't want to subject Sookie to anything to do with this asshole. However, I realized that Victor was actually far less interested in having me as an ally than he was in obtaining Sookie's and Jason's skills. In fact, if he could get them without me, that would be a better situation for him.

I came to one clear, unrefutable conclusion: to ally with Victor was the same as signing my own death warrant. Whatever Sophie Ann had planned for them, Victor's plans for them were far worse, and I was totally unnecessary to his plans. He tried to flatter me by mentioning all my allies all over the country, but I was pretty sure he didn't give a flying fuck about that.

Victor's forces were formidable. I had to remind myself that I also had advantages. I knew more than Victor thought I did. I had allies not only in the American government but also in The Authority. The government was preparing for this attack. I had allies, and I had Godric. What to do, what to do…

I shook my head as I decided that trap on not, I was going to be making a deal with the devil.

 **A/N: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck!**

Special thanks to all who reviewed since the last posting, as of 11/1/17: Asami's clown, Kristin D Ellis, princessspot5, Casey 8686, Jada juice, ljhjelm49, elliebaby33, hummingbirdgrrl, VampMad50, MsNorthman, mycajunlover, VAlady, ericlover69, jackie69, tleel, 3 Guests, Duckbutt, bttrflybelle, Perfecta999, FlowerChild23, ciasteczko, Medtran, celajwhitney, suzymeinen, Casedeputy, fanfictionfan4444, The Vikings Succubus.

This chapter had the most reviews ever! A large part of that was due to elliebaby33, VAlady, and celajwhitney coming late to the party and reviewing most of the chapters as they read. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Very, very special thank to mycajunlover who happened to write review number 1000! Thanks so much from one Cajun to another!


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47 – Advantage

 _Last time:_

 _I came to one clear, irrefutable conclusion: to ally with Victor was the same as signing my own death warrant. Whatever Sophie Ann had planned for Jason and Sookie, Victor's plans for them were far worse, and I was totally unnecessary to his plans. He tried to flatter me by mentioning all my allies all over the country, but I was pretty sure he didn't give a flying fuck about that._

 _Victor's forces were formidable. I had to remind myself that I also had advantages. I knew more than Victor thought I did. I had allies not only in the American government but also in The Authority. The government was preparing for this attack. I had allies, and I had Godric. What to do, what to do…_

 _I shook my head as I decided that trap on not, I was going to be making a deal with the devil._

Now:

I continued to review Victor's all-encompassing plan looking for flaws and weaknesses. I knew that Raphael would deliver this plan as I had instructed, so there were others combing through the plan as well.

I must have lost track of time because I heard Sookie calling my name. I looked up, and she was standing leaning against the doorway to the den. She looked like an angel… a very sexy angel. She had thrown on a little pink satin nightgown and had a matching robe loosely wrapped around herself with one side of it falling down past her shoulder. Her hair was slightly mussed from sleep. It was as if she had been beautifully staged for a movie entrance.

"Eric? What are you doing up here?" she asked in her sexy sleepy voice. "I've been calling your name for a while; you must have been really absorbed in whatever you are doing."

I smiled at her, "I'm sorry my love, I hoped not to disturb you, so I came up here to await Victor's call. I got him to send me all the details of his plans to overthrow the… world. I was just going over them."

"Uh huh…" she hesitated, "you do realize it's well past sunrise, don't you?"

I jerked my head to the windows, and I could see the pink sky from the western view. Soon those skies would be light blue. My body showed no cause for alarm; in fact, I felt no warning of the sun at all. I looked back at Sookie in wonder. Then I got up, walked over to her, and took her hand, "come with me." I walked with her to the back door, and we went out to the pool area behind the house. I turned and faced the east where the sun was already making its dominance known, and I closed my eyes as I felt the sun on my face for the first time in over a thousand years. It felt like a mother's loving caress, like a warm embrace from days long past, like the air was somehow sweeter than I ever remembered it being before. I opened my eyes and I was dazzled by the sheer beauty of it. I wanted to express that beauty, to thank Sookie for this miracle, to do anything other than just stand there, but my brain wouldn't let my mouth form words or turn away.

Finally, I heard Sookie say with a smile in her voice, "awww, honey, are you all right?"

Only then could I turn my head and look at her, and there it was… Something even more spectacular than the sunrise. My Sookie in the sunlight. Her hair was blazing golden, and the pupils in her eyes had shrunken to accommodate the light so they had never been bluer. She was a glorious vision beyond the imaginings or abilities of any Italian Renaissance painter.

She then asked with actual concern in her voice, "really, Eric, are you all right?" She walked over to the patio cupboard and pulled out a towel. She took the corner of it and wiped my face. Apparently, I had tears rolling down my face. That made me start to chuckle, and then I started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. She was smiling and laughing with me. When she threw the towel down I reached down and picked her up with my arms around her waist and held her aloft with her head a little above mine. By then were both laughing, and I just starting turning around and around. When I stopped, she slid down my body, and I just kissed her with all the love, joy, and unadulterated rapture in my heart.

"Just when I thought you couldn't possibly get any more beautiful, I turn around and see you in the sunlight," I told her with more than a little awe in my voice. And just like that there were tears rolling down her cheek. Her tears made me start crying in earnest, sobbing as I hadn't sobbed since my human days. Soon I discovered we were both on our knees hugging each other. Sookie wisely knew that she just needed to let me work through all of the emotions coursing within me. After a while I pulled back and looked at her. She still had tears rolling down her face as well. She reached down and picked up the towel and wiped my face again.

"Sookie, what you have given me is… I can never, never repay. There is nothing I can ever hope to give you that…" I was having trouble finishing my sentences.

She smiled as she was wiping my face clean, "hush, now. There is nothing to repay, silly. I'm repaid in full just by sharing this moment with you. The joy I feel from you right now is so sublime that it is almost unbearable."

I chuckled, "yes, I know. You should feel it from my side." We both laughed.

"So, you're feeling OK? You don't feel any burning or tingling or whatever?" she asked in concern.

I smiled, "I feel perfectly fine. No, better than that, I feel perfect."

"Well, I don't know Victor's plans, but this has to give you some sort of advantage," she observed. Her astute mind was as amazing as ever.

"Yes it really should; I just need to figure out the best way to use it. However, Sookie, no one, and I mean NO ONE can know about this for now. OK?" I asked.

She nodded, "I won't tell a soul."

I hugged her to me thinking of the ways that we could use this new daywalking ability of mine. I had a few ideas, but I needed some information first. I pulled back from her, "well, what do you want to do today? Now that we can basically do almost anything we want?"

"Hmmm… This is my first full day off since I moved in. What to do, what to do?" she mused with a smile.

I tilted my head, "I don't suppose I'd get sunburned if we wanted to swim… Vampire healing abilities and all…"

She giggled, "no, I don't suppose you would. That would be a dead giveaway."

"Pardon the pun," I laughed and she joined me. And with that we decided to swim in the morning sunshine. All satin, black and pink, was left poolside. This swim had nothing to do with sex. We were two people in love just frolicking in the water. I began to appreciate the value of a good frolic. We laughed and splashed each other and played and played. In short, we just had fun. There was nothing on earth like my Sookie's bubbling laughter. I realized that I needed to assure that there was always fun in our lives because fun was… well… fun. I had pursued pleasure many, many times, as well as many pleasurable things in my long life, but maybe I'd let fun just slide off my radar. That would change from this moment forward, I determined. Now that I had the full run of the daily clock, there would always be time for fun, by the gods. Even though that would never come close to repayment, my Sookie deserved nothing less.

While we tooled around the pool, I began to think of all the things, daytime things, that I wanted to do with Sookie. The things I'd dismissed as impossible before: The Kentucky Derby, running with the bulls at Pamplona, sitting courtside at Wimbledon. All the things I usually only witnessed after-the-fact on the evening news or in night-time re-broadcasts. By the gods, the things we could do together on our honeymoon in Venice! Maybe that trip to the Amazon could happen sooner than she expected. My mind was whirring with the possibilities.

However, as much as I just wanted to spend the day having fun with Sookie, there were some very serious things happening in our world at the moment, and those things needed to be addressed. After about an hour of playing in the pool, Sookie declared that she was hungry for breakfast. We got out, dried off, dressed again in our satins, and headed into the kitchen.

Sookie said, "why don't you have a seat at the bar there while I make my breakfast."

"Nope," I answered.

She turned and looked at me, "what do you mean 'nope'?"

I shook my head, "not going to sit at the bar while you cook. I'm going to follow what you do so I can make you breakfast some time." She looked at me in disbelief. "It's only fair, Sookie. You provide me with ALL of my nourishment, I just want to return the favor."

She just looked at me for a moment and said simply, "ok." The way she said it sounded as if she didn't think I was truly up to the task. I'd just have to show her. Then she shifted into teacher mode, "first we start with the bacon. We do that because we want to use the bacon grease that comes out while cooking for the eggs and gravy." I nodded as I watched her put the strips of pink and white into a large flat pan with three inch high sides. She continued, "I cook the bacon on low heat which keeps it from curling too much."

I nodded, memorizing everything she was saying. "Where does bacon come from?" I asked.

"From pigs," she said and I nodded. "I love the smell of bacon when it's cooking." I nodded because I had to admit that the aroma was actually quite pleasing. The bacon began to shrivel as it cooked, and she soon got some tongs to turn it over. Afterward, she went to refrigerator and pulled several items out. "I'm going to make some biscuits. Usually, I like to make them from scratch, but this morning, I'm going to make some that come pre-packaged," she said as she showed me a tube. She peeled the paper off, and used a spoon against a stripe on the bare tube and it popped open. "You pre-heat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees like this," and she showed me. "Then you put the uncooked biscuits on an ungreased flat pan," again she showed me. "Once the oven reaches the desired temperature, you put them in and cook them for the prescribed time." She looked at the paper she had pulled off of the tube and said, "in this case, eleven to thirteen minutes or until golden brown." She showed me the printing on the paper.

"Why is there a range of time? Why not just tell you one time?" I asked.

"Good question, Mr. Northman," she said as if she were a teacher impressed by her pupil's observation.

"Why thank you, Miss Stackhouse," I returned.

"The reason is because all ovens are different. One oven might take eleven minutes, and another one might take up to fifteen minutes," she answered. That made sense. She then used the tongs to turn the bacon over again. "Almost done there," she said.

"How do you know when the bacon is done?" I asked.

"With most things you make for breakfast, it will look a certain way, and you will know it's done. A lot of this isn't timed, just go by the look. I'll show you." I nodded again following every word she was saying as if they were holy. She then took a bowl, broke two eggs into it, added just a little milk, and some shredded yellow substance I later learned was cheese. "I'm going to make the easiest eggs. Besides the milk and cheese, you need to add salt and pepper, and then take a fork and whip it all together. This is called scrambled eggs." I watched her, again memorizing every ingredient and every move. She then set the bowl aside. The oven beeped, "that's the cue that the oven has pre-heated to the correct temperature, and you can put in your biscuits." And she did so, while punching the clock on the stove to set the timer, she explained. She then got out a plate and put a paper towel on it, "this is what the bacon looks like when it is done," I nodded and she continued, "you want to place it on the paper towel so that some of the grease remaining on it will be soaked away."

She began to giggle, "you've been awfully quiet so far."

I smiled at her, "I'm memorizing everything. Keep going."

She shook her head, "ok, you've taken up your bacon. Now you divide your bacon grease, pouring a little in another pan for the eggs and leaving most of it in the original pan for the gravy." She continued narrating her actions and instructions throughout the entire preparation process. She was a really good teacher, always explaining 'why' as she went along. When it was all finished, and she had put her breakfast on a plate to eat, I felt as if I could totally fix this meal for her in the future. She sat down to eat, and before I joined her, I opened every cupboard door and drawer to memorize where everything was. She had decided to eat at the bar in the kitchen, and I joined her.

"So, do you think you could make this now?" she asked.

"Absolutely," I said as I rested my head on my fist. "I watched very carefully, and I have the gift of total recall."

She smiled, "ok. I can't wait to see how you do." How could someone sound so hopeful and doubtful at the same time? I smirked. I was pretty sure I could replicate this meal for her in the future. Especially because she was such a good teacher.

"My Sookie, I have already had so much fun today, but I received Victor's entire plan for his coup. I have until tonight to tell him if I'm in or out. If I'm in, he'll want me to turn you and Jason over for his use. If I'm out, I'm officially his enemy. Either way he's planning to kill me just so that he can have you," I confided to her.

"Oh my God, Eric, you think he'll kill you if you agree to be his ally?" she asked.

"Oh yes. It's what I would do if our roles were reversed, and I were planning to take over the country. I am unnecessary to his plans, but you and Jason are not. He wants you badly; he thinks he _needs_ you. He has also said that he needs my network of allies, but I think that is a smoke-screen. I will have to approach him as if I really have a network worth having. I would then buy myself some time before he has me killed," I said.

"I don't like this, Eric. Any of it… I don't want anything to happen to you… Oh my God… " Sookie said with no small amount of despair.

I took her hand in mine and smiled, "Don't worry, Sookie. I think that Victor will find that I'm harder to kill than he thinks. I haven't survived for over a thousand years on sheer luck." She gulped and nodded. I continued, "for one thing, I try to stay several steps ahead of my enemies. To that end, the American government is already aware of all that I know about Victor's plans. They have been organizing for his upcoming threats for days now. He knows nothing about all of this."

"Well that's good, I hope."

"My love, I know this is our first full day together in so many ways, but given the current threat, I think I need to meet with the government agents and Godric tonight. But I don't want to do it at Fangtasia or the Bonne Chance where too many people could witness what was going on. Would you mind too much if I invited them over here?" I asked.

"Of course not, Eric. Why would I mind?" she asked.

"I had intended to keep our home a secret from the outside world for as long as possible, but I think this is the safest place for us to meet. It is the only place that I am sure we won't be observed, listened in on, or spied upon," I told her.

She smiled at me, "I'm happy to entertain our first guests. I'm proud of our home. I'll make some refreshments for everyone."

"You don't have to do that, Sookie," I said.

"Of course I do. In fact, I look forward to it. I am the lady of the house after all," she smiled.

I chuckled, "indeed you are. Could you call your grandfather to join us? I have a plan that he might be able to help with."

"Sure, just let me go get my phone," she said as she ran downstairs. While she was gone, I cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, all at vamp speed (I'd been watching her do it all week). I then got my phone, too. When she returned she called her grandfather while I called and left a message with one of the agents to set up tonight's meeting. I told them to meet with Godric, and he would direct them to my house. I then left a message with Godric to coordinate with the agents for the meeting.

After we made our calls, I told Sookie that I would like to meet with Clovache, so she went upstairs and knocked on her door and invited her to join us. After I had a long talk with Clovache, she grabbed some food and returned to her room.

I turned to Sookie, and she was marveling at the kitchen being already cleaned. She turned to look at me, and I just shrugged. She ran over and hugged me, "you are excellent husband material."

I laughed at her assessment, "all I did was clean the kitchen. I hardly think that would qualify me for husband of the year."

"You might be surprised about that," she grinned.

We decided to return to the pool and hot tub for a while. It was so amazing to be out in the sunlight. Oddly, it felt almost natural to be out there after a little while. Sookie and I talked and planned for our future, played, and finally made love several times. Mostly we just basked in each other's company. One thing we decided was that on our honeymoon in Venice, I would definitely be out and about with her in the daytime. I didn't think anyone would be any the wiser there. I was thrilled by the thought that we would be a typical honeymoon couple in just about every way. I even told her the story of how we met and 'saved' Rasul.

I even told her that we could go to restaurants together during the day. She looked at me puzzled by that idea, and I told her that I had done that many times to pass as human. She laughed when she realized that I must have had to do that in the past. I would order human food, and shift it around on the plate. To most in the restaurant it simply looked like I was just not very hungry. She even determined that she would pick two meals she would like to try, and as the happy honeymooner, I would lovingly feed her a few bites off of my plate. It helped that she really loved Italian food. I would have to remember that when I picked restaurants for our future dates.

Around three o'clock we went inside, showered and more… a lot more, and finally dressed for the day. We returned to the kitchen where Sookie made lunch for herself and Clovache. At her request, I went upstairs and invited Clovache to join us. The three of us sat at the kitchen bar for lunch, and while they were eating, I received text messages confirming tonight's meeting from both Godric and FBI. Sookie had spoken directly to her grandfather, so we already knew he was coming. In the meantime, I had Clovache contact Batanya to have her and Jason join us. Shortly after that, Sookie left with Clovache to go to the grocery store to pick up what Sookie insisted she needed to provide refreshments for all in attendance. They were gone for less than an hour, and Sookie went straight to the kitchen to start preparing. I could tell through our bond that she was extremely happy to be 'entertaining' in our home, so I left her to it, even though I personally thought it was unnecessary. I shook my head at the thought that most war councils didn't come with petit fours. Whatever made my lover happy was fine with me.

The first to arrive was Godric with FBI and Homeland Security. Soon thereafter, Fintan popped in. He nodded to the government agents he'd already met. Clovache came downstairs just before Batanya popped in with Jason. The dining room table was set up for eight, with one additional chair next to mine. Sookie had put her hors d'oeuvres in the center of the table. She then proceeded to fill everyone's drink requests. Once she'd done that, she sat down in the final ninth chair placed near mine and joined us.

Homeland Security was the first to speak, "we seem to have some new players at the table, Mr. Northman. Might we have some introductions?"

"Agent Pettigrew, Agent Langford, may I introduce Clovache and Batanya. They are Britlingens. Another race of supernatural beings. Britlingens work as personal bodyguards for hire. They are almost unstoppable. However, when Jason was kidnapped, Batanya was gravely injured, but Jason used his light to heal her. They possess special skills which may come in handy with our planning."

"Brit-what?" FBI asked.

"Britlingens," I answered. "Like fairies, they come from a different realm." FBI and Homeland Security were once again wide-eyed.

FBI shook his head, "someday are you going to tell us that you are in contact with aliens from outer space?"

All of the supernaturals around the table chuckled, "no, Mr. Langford, I'm not. But I think that Clovache and Batanya may have some abilities that will be helpful as we face the enormous menace that Victor Madden poses."

Homeland Security asked, "and just what might those abilities be, Mr. Northman?"

I smiled, "Clovache, Batanya, go invisible." And they did. FBI and Homeland Security just stared at their seemingly empty seats. "I talked to Clovache, who lives here with Sookie and me, earlier today if she could make someone with her invisible as well." At that both of the Britlingens re-appeared. "And she said she could." I looked around the table, "Clovache, could you make Fintan disappear with you please?"

Clovache stood up and walked to where Fintan was sitting. She put her hand on his shoulder, and both of them disappeared. FBI and Homeland Security seemed suitably impressed. I continued, "I hired both of the Britlingens as personal bodyguards to Sookie and Jason. Clovache guards Sookie, which is why she lives here, and Batanya guards Jason. The large amount of unidentifiable blood found at Jason's when he was kidnapped was hers. But as you can see, Britlingens have remarkable healing abilities. Jason and Batanya were astoundingly outnumbered when they were attacked, but Jason's fairy light had the ability to heal Batanya, who would otherwise be dead now." At that Jason and Batanya high-fived each other.

I continued, "by now, you have had the chance to review Victor's plans that he sent me. The biggest thing that I observed from those plans is the first step: taking down the power grids in the east, central and western parts of the United States. Has the government made plans for this?"

Homeland Security answered, "yes, we have. We have troops stationed at the central grid points. If they want to take those power grids down, they'll have a battle on their hands. In addition, we have troops stationed at all sub-stations."

"Excellent," I added. "However, that is not guaranteed. Victor's force may still prevail at one or more of the grid sites."

Homeland Security bristled, "we'll make sure that they don't."

I nodded, "I'm not meaning to criticize or offend; I'm just stating possible facts. As you have heard from last night's conversation with Victor, I have to give him an answer later tonight. I have also determined that I am expendable to Victor. He wants Sookie and Jason. Once I deliver them, my life is forfeit." I noticed that both Sookie and Godric started shaking their heads. "My point is, I need to meet with Victor to set up the circumstances of surrendering Sookie and Jason. I was hoping that I could do that with Clovache and Fintan accompanying me invisibly. That way, Fintan could delve into Victor's mind, learn of any tricks he may have that we don't yet know about, and ascertain his resting place, and then I could take him out during his day rest." I noticed Fintan smiling.

FBI asked, "won't you also be down for the day?"

I looked again to Fintan who smiled before I answered, "no, I won't."

FBI and Homeland Security looked at each other. Finally, Homeland Security asked, "and why won't you be?"

I looked at Sookie and then Fintan, "just trust me. I will be able to take him out."

As I expected Homeland Security spoke, "not good enough, Mr. Northman. We will be hanging a lot of this plan on this idea. We need a better answer."

Sookie looked at me and I nodded, "Are you sure? I thought you didn't want anyone to know." I nodded. "Mr. Pettigrew, Eric is…" she looked at me again, and again I nodded. She continued, "Eric is a daywalker."

Again FBI and Homeland Security looked at each other. FBI asked, "a daywalker? Does that mean you can be exposed to sunlight?" I nodded. I saw Godric's eyes widen. FBI continued, "so you can not only be up during the day, but you can also walk in the sun?"

I responded, "yes to both. But I ask that all of you around this table keep this to yourself. It would be very dangerous to both me and Sookie if that information got out." I looked pointedly at Jason until he nodded. I looked over at Fintan who was smiling, and I raised my eyebrow in question.

He chuckled, "just what did you think that blast of light was doing?"

Sookie blushed furiously as she and I looked at each other, and she asked, "that's what it does?"

Fintan nodded and added mysteriously, "among other things."

Homeland Security asked, "care to share with the rest of the class?"

Fintan looked at him and politely said, "not really." Homeland Security tilted his head to the side in question, and Fintan just smiled serenely at him.

Godric interrupted their stare-down, "Eric, there is something that has been bothering me since we first found out about Victor's plans."

Homeland Security turned to him, "and that would be?"

Godic continued, "Victor is a smart vampire, to be sure. But I have trouble believing that he is _this_ smart. This plan is massive, as in it has taken decades to organize. His highest rank to date has been as what? The second to the foppish king of Nevada?"

FBI asked, "what's your point, Godric?"

Godric looked at each of us around the table in turn, "I'm afraid that I believe that Victor is not the top of this command chain." That caused all of us to squirm uncomfortably in our seats. "Also, America has many allies. If the American government were to topple from within due to a vampire revolution, those allies would surely come to their aid, for fear of something similar happening elsewhere, or everywhere." He paused, "Mr. Langford, Mr. Pettigrew, I think it might be wise to contact your comrades in… Interpol. Just because we are only seeing the plan for what is to happen on American soil does not mean that there aren't similar plans about to erupt in other parts of the world."

We all sat in silence at that suggestion. " _Fuck…_ " Jason was the first to find his voice.

"Indeed…" his grandfather added.

FBI immediately stood from his chair, crossed to the window, and pulled out his phone. While he was doing that, Homeland Security had also pulled out his phone, and both men were frantically delivering similar messages to their respective superiors.

Fintan stood and crossed to the da Vinci painting and stared at it. FBI and Homeland Security returned to the table. Finally, Fintan said without turning to face us, "I think perhaps it might be time to evacuate all fairies from this realm. They will be… how do you say it? Sitting ducks? If this vampire plan works."

The agents looked at me for an explanation, "the blood of fairies is like crack to vampires. Most are unable to resist it or stop themselves once they are drinking it. It also makes vampires really, really drunk."

"And I do mean ALL fairies," Fintan continued as he turned and looked first at Jason and then at Sookie.

 **AN: Review, review, review. It's my only paycheck.**

Special thanks to XxCeCe who was the 200th person to follow the story!

Very special thanks to all who reviewed since the last chapter, as of 11/7/17: princessspot5, ciasteczko, Asami's clown, Guest, Perfecta999, Duckbutt, ljhjelm49, ericlover69, celajwhitney, Jadajuice, VampMad50, MsNorthman, Medtran, AmiraMo11, jackie69, hummingbirdgrrl, Nicolle1977, tleel, georgiasuzy, meganstane211, elliebaby33, pnwer


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48 – On Your Mark

 _Last time:_

 _Fintan stood and crossed to the da Vinci painting and stared at it. FBI and Homeland Security returned to the table. Finally, Fintan said without turning to face us, "I think perhaps it might be time to evacuate all fairies from this realm. They will be… how do you say it? Sitting ducks? If this vampire plan works."_

 _The agents looked at me for an explanation, "the blood of fairies is like crack to vampires. Most are unable to resist it or stop themselves once they are drinking it. It also makes vampires really, really drunk."_

" _And I do mean ALL fairies," Fintan continued as he turned and looked first at Jason and then at Sookie._

Now:

The people sitting around the table remained quiet for a moment. It was Jason who broke the silence once again, "meaning what, exactly, granddaddy?" Fintan just quirked an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Here we go again," Sookie said under her breath and released a sigh.

"Do not give me that attitude, Sookie," Fintan declared, and he looked pissed.

"I am not going to go into this with you again, granddaddy. I am not going to Fae," Sookie insisted.

Fintan just stared at her for a moment with no expression whatsoever on his face, and then a small smile broke across his lips. He said nothing, so that smile became a little frightening. I noticed that Jason narrowed his eyes when his grandfather gave that smile, and I reminded myself that Jason was not dumb… nor was he without powers of his own. He was figuring out what that cryptic expression of his grandfather's meant, probably through his emotional shifts. Whereas Sookie had told me once she couldn't read her grandfather's mind, it appeared that Jason could definitely read his moods. After a moment, Jason's eyes widened, and he turned and looked at his sister. I knew that he was speaking to her mentally.

Homeland Security broke the silent tension among the family members by asking, "what do you think Victor Madden would do if the Stackhouses were completely unavailable to him?"

Godric responded, "that is a very good question. It might serve to disrupt his plans." He paused, "however, he is fairly sure at this point that Eric has been convinced to join him, and that he has nearly gotten the secret weapons that he believes Jason and Sookie to be. Eric, if he were to believe the Stackhouses are unavailable to him, not only would he be furious, but you would go to the top of his hit list. You know far too much to let live."

"Oh my God, Eric…" Sookie exclaimed. "Granddaddy, I won't let you get Eric killed, so whatever you're planning… just stop it. Stop it right now."

"Sookie, I indulged you before, but I will not let you endanger both your and your brother's lives. There are so many ways that this can go wrong…" he shook his head and shuddered slightly. "No matter how much planning and protection is put in place, you both could still be hurt or killed. The only way I can guarantee your safety is to take you out of this realm."

"My safety is not yours to guarantee, Granddaddy, I'm a grown woman," Sookie insisted.

"It will always be mine to guarantee, as long as I live. I don't care how old you become, that will never, _never_ change. You mean too much to me," he stated emphatically, and quite regally. His face shifted to something softer, "Sookie," he whispered. "I've had to bury both of my children, something no parent should ever have to do. The thought of something happening to my grandchildren breaks my heart." There was a tear hanging on the edge of his eyelid. Wow, Fintan was pulling out all of the emotional stops. The two agents bowed their heads in the face of so much family drama.

Sookie had a tear making its way down her cheek, "I'm sorry, Granddaddy," she whispered, "but I can't leave Eric. I just can't. If he were killed because of me, I wouldn't survive it anyway. So all those protective precautions would be for naught."

"Sookie," he said in exasperation. "He will be fine. He has survived for a long time. I'm sure he will feel better if you are safe in Fae."

Everyone looked at me, but I didn't have the chance to speak before Godric, "actually he won't. Fintan, they are bonded." There were a couple of gasps around the table. I think they came from the Britlingens.

Homeland Security asked, "what exactly does that mean?"

"Bonding is a vampire… marriage of sorts," Godric answered. Both agents looked confused, so he continued, "when a vampire and a human, or in this case human/fairy hybrid, exchange blood three times they become permanently bonded. It is a magical connection which allows them to apparently share powers in this case. Such would not be the case with a mere human, no offense," he paused and both agents nodded. "At any rate, if you separate a bonded pair, they will suffer from bonding sickness. If you kill one of a bonded pair, the other will die shortly thereafter."

FBI asked, "does Victor know they are bonded?"

"He does," I answered, "however, he may not care about killing me. He just might believe that Sookie would survive it."

Jason asked, "why would he think that? Isn't bonding, like, really sacred to you guys?"

I nodded and Godric answered, "it is. A bond is the one thing no vampire law can override. However, Victor does not seem inclined to recognize any laws. I suspect he plans to try to bond Sookie to himself or someone else, hoping it will displace the previous bond."

"Will that work?" Sookie asked sounding frightened.

"I do not believe it will, but that doesn't mean that he won't try," Godric answered.

Homeland Security asked, "hold on, if Sookie dies, Eric will die?" Both Godric and I nodded.

"You will?" Sookie asked looking at me. I looked at her for a moment, knowing that I couldn't lie to her, and then I nodded. "Why would you bond with me then? I told you I wasn't sure about becoming a vampire."

"Yes, I know. But I would rather have a little time with you than an eternity without you," I looked deeply into her eyes.

"You crazy Viking, how could you take this chance? And how could you not tell me about this?" she asked with more tears rolling down her cheeks. She reached over and pulled me to her lips and kissed me. "We'll talk about this later, so don't think you're off the hook here," she said pointing her finger at me.

"I didn't think that I would be," I smiled. "But we need to get back on target here. Fintan, if you take Sookie to Fae, I will suffer from bonding sickness, which puts me at a great disadvantage. If I get killed…"

"Granddaddy," Jason chimed in, "we're just getting back on track since the kidnapping at The Enchanted Forest. I can't just leave now, or our business might not recover. We're booked for landscaping jobs through the next two months solid."

Fintan shook his head, "how is that I can command legions in Fae, but in this realm, I can't even tell my own grandchildren what to do?"

Jason chuckled, "because we're not only your grandchildren… we're also Americans." He shrugged as if that explained it all. Both agents chuckled at that declaration. Even Fintan cracked a smile at that.

Godric added, "I think Eric's idea to have an invisible Britlingen and Fintan accompany him to a meeting with Victor is a good one. If he can discover Victor's resting place, he can take him out during the day. But what we need to determine is if this plan will move forward with or without Victor given that he may not be the mastermind behind it."

Sookie asked, "won't Granddaddy be able to tell us that as well? Especially if Eric asks the right questions and gets Victor thinking about the answers we want to learn?"

Homeland Security said, "that sounds like a good idea. Do you think you could get him to come to Fangtasia?"

"I could try, but it is more likely that he will insist on a meeting place of his choice. He will probably give me very little time to get there as well. It's what I would do in his place," I answered.

Fintan asked Clovache, "can you port invisible?" She nodded. "Very good." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring and handed it to me, "wear this when you meet him. I will be able to find you wherever you are."

I took the ring which was too small for even my pinkie finger. Sookie saw that and excused herself for a moment only to return with a pendant on a long, thin leather cord. "Here," she said as she took the ring and placed it on the cord with the pendant, and then she tied the cord around my neck.

I picked up the pendant and looked at it, "what is this?" I asked.

She chuckled, "it's a medallion for Saint Fiacre, the patron saint of gardeners and people who grow plants." She noticed everyone at the table looking at her, and she shrugged, "it was a graduation gift from one of my botany professors at Centenary. I think she gives them to all the botany majors when they graduate."

So here I sat, a pagan Viking vampire wearing a Catholic gardening saint around my neck in order to meet with the whackjob vampire intent on taking over the world so that a Britlingen and fairy prince could find me and pop in invisibly and read his mind. I just shook my head at all the ironies at work there. "I'm pretty sure that I will not be able to record a live conversation with Victor. He will surely have me scanned for electronic devices – again, it's what I would do. However, among myself, Clovache, and Fintan, we should be able to account for not only what he says aloud, but also what he's thinking. I'm guessing that he will give me very little time to turn over Jason and Sookie. As in the next day at the longest. I will try to argue for more time, but he will insist. Also, I'm guessing he's going to want all of the takeover business to happen soon enough to crown himself King of America before the end of the week."

FBI asked, "you think he will be moving his revolution forward that quickly?"

"You saw the timelines that both Fintan and Victor himself provided. All he's been waiting for is to get the Stackhouses under his thumb. As soon as he's accomplished that, I'd say he will move forward immediately," I said and Homeland Security nodded his agreement.

"So, my biggest concern is, what are you going to do about handing over my grandchildren?" Fintan asked. "Also, other than sending soldiers to certain electrical power sites, what is the government doing to prevent this calamity?"

Homeland Security answered, "my department, along with the NSA, FBI, CIA, and Special Forces have been quietly taking down the individual cells across the country. I think Mr. Madden will be in for quite a surprise when he tries to activate his army."

Godric looked at him, "how have you kept this from Victor?"

He smiled, "with the information we got from Fintan, we were able to break his communication codes. We've planted agents at the site of every cell to maintain the illusion that all is well."

"What percentage of the cells have you been able to subdue?" I asked.

"So far, just about half of them. However, we have forces moving constantly to get the rest. I don't know how many of them we will have if Victor launches sooner rather than later, but he won't have nearly the fighting force he believes he will. This has been a massive undertaking of the covert forces of this country." Even so, that they had been able to take down half of them without detection in this short space of time was impressive.

"However, until all of his forces have been neutralized, and we find out who may actually be the mastermind behind all of this, there is still a lot to be concerned about," Fintan added. "Much damage can be inflicted by half of a fighting force of vampires. That could still forever change this world, and it would definitely damage vampire/human relations. By extension, all other supernaturals in this realm would suffer as well."

FBI added, "Mr. Northman, you must try to delay Victor Madden's attack as long as you can. The longer he delays, the more of his forces we can subdue. Given enough time, we may be able to take them all down."

Sookie shook her head, "Mr. Langford, the longer the delay, the more likely Victor will discover what is happening covertly. It's a risk either way." She was right; of course she was right, she was one of the best naturally strategic thinkers I'd ever met. Fintan must have been reading my thoughts because a smile slowly crossed his lips. She continued, "any delaying tactic that Eric uses will be seen as just that: a delaying tactic… Unless… "

We all sat there waiting for her to finish her sentence. "Unless what, my love?" I finally asked.

"Our wedding… We can use our wedding as a delaying tactic. Tell Victor that you have discussed his proposal of working for him with me, and that I said that nothing could happen until after our wedding. The invitations have gone out, it's a real, legitimate reason to delay. That will seem realistic, and it's this coming Friday; Victor won't see that as too long to wait, and that should give the government time to take down the rest of the forces, given that they've already taken down so many in such a short amount of time."

Homeland Security looked impressed, "that just might work."

Everyone was quiet for a moment until Godric said, "remember Victor is an 'old-school' vampire. He will ask you why you can't control your human. It could make you look weak, Eric."

Sookie had an answer for that, too, "remind Victor that I am not human. I am a fairy, and more than that, I'm a fairy princess. Tell him I am unaccustomed to being denied what I want, if you think that would help." I can't be sure because in all other cases he was so elegant, but I would swear I heard Fintan snort at Sookie's statement. Sookie just rolled her eyes at him, and he chuckled in return.

Jason added, "maybe he will think Sookie will be more firmly ensconced in the vampire world if she is married to one." Everyone turned and looked at him in surprise, and he just shrugged. Sookie was right, Jason was smart.

Clovache started to say something, but then thought better of it. She would no doubt be a strategic thinker as well, so I said, "did you have a thought to share, Clovache?"

She looked at everyone around the table, "typically in situations like this, Britlingen guards just sit back and listen silently as tactical plans unfold and try to decipher our places within those plans. However, my job is to protect Sookie, and I have been trained to think ahead to possible dangerous scenarios that could befall those in my care. I was thinking that you might make the wedding a target of attack if you use it to delay Madden. What precautions are you planning to put in place to prevent that?" She paused, "further, if this Victor Madden insists you meet him tomorrow, or tonight, in some theoretically neutral place of _his_ choosing, what will keep him from trying to obtain Jason and Sookie while you are away?"

"Good points," Fintan added.

"Wow, Clovache, that's really smart," Jason added.

She shrugged and said, "that's why they pay us the big bucks…" she winked at him, and he chuckled while Sookie nearly choked on her drink. Apparently, Clovache had been watching a lot of television in her down time.

Godric answered, "may I suggest that Jason stay here tonight and tomorrow night with Batanya and me as guards. I don't believe that Victor knows about this house, does he?" I shook my head, and Godric paused for a second before he continued, "however, this house is owned by a vampire, so he doesn't need an invitation to enter, nor does any vampire he might dispatch here."

"Actually, this house is owned by Sookie," I said.

She turned to me very quickly, "it is? When did that happen and why?"

"For exactly the reason Godric is worried about. I did it right after we decided to move in together. I had my day man take care of the paperwork and file the deed. The next time we were here, I lingered out at my car, and you just poked your head out the door and told me to hurry on in, remember? You invited me to come in without knowing you were granting me access. I believe you did the same thing tonight when Godric came to the door," I shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I didn't think it mattered since we were getting married anyway. It affords you a level of protection," I told her. "Besides, I didn't want you to get mad."

She tilted her head to the side, "I never thought I would see you look sheepish," she chuckled. "We will discuss this too later in private."

I smiled at her, "I'm making a list." Everyone around the table chuckled at that, and that made Sookie blush again.

Batanya stood, "if you will excuse me, I will return to Jason's for some clothes for the night and tomorrow." She popped out.

"You can share a ride with me to work if you need to tomorrow, Jase," Sookie added. Jason nodded.

FBI spoke, "so, the plan is for you to talk with this Victor Madden and meet with him either later tonight or tomorrow night. Clovache and Fintan, who will be invisible," he chuckled shaking his head, "will accompany you, and Fintan will read Victor's mind to find out any plans that we do not yet know about, and also who may be the actual head of this whole mess of a revolution. You will try to delay Victor in the delivery of Sookie and Jason until after your wedding. Meanwhile, Jason will be staying here with you in a house that vampires can't easily enter with at least one Brit… Brit… "

"lingen," both Sookie and Jason said together.

"Right, Brit-lingen guard and Godric. In addition, the covert forces of the U.S. government will continue to take down Victor's individual fighting cells hopefully without arousing his suspicion. Currently our departments are notifying Interpol of possible similar threats in other parts of the world. Have I left anything out?"

Homeland Security snickered, "bet you never thought you'd utter a paragraph like that, did you?" FBI chuckled and shook his head.

Fintan said, "I would also like to bring Adele here when we meet with Madden. I am uncomfortable leaving her alone at the farmhouse. That way Thalia can join Godric and Batanya in the protection of my family."

Godric nodded, "I think that is a very good idea." Both Sookie and Jason were nodding their heads in agreement. Jason pulled out his phone to make a call regarding this change of plans.

Homeland Security asked, "what happens if Victor denies your request to delay handing over the Stackhouses or decides to hold on to you, or what if he just outright kills you? I'm sorry if that sounds cold, but we need to have a plan for all of these contingencies."

Sookie cried, "oh my God…"

I looked at her, "no, Sookie, he's right. We need to have a plan in case any of those possibilities arise. Fintan, do you know how to get in touch with these government agents?" He shook his head. "Gentlemen, could you give your cards to Fintan, Jason, and Sookie?" They began fishing in their pockets for those cards. "If something should happen to me… or gods forbid, me _and_ Fintan, alert the agents as soon as possible." It had occurred to me that Victor may have a way to know about or discover an invisible Fintan through special wards or such. It was doubtful, but I wanted to plan for it just in case. If Victor were to discover Fintan, I hoped he would see him more as a potential asset than a threat. That way he wouldn't immediately kill or drain him. In fact, if he had Fintan, he just might think he no longer needed Jason and Sookie. Which, if I spent too much time thinking about it, didn't bode well for me.

In addition, if it came down to it, I could easily explain the subterfuge for Fintan's presence to Victor: he was concerned about his grandchildren. I had no idea of Fintan's actual combat skills, but I was betting that they were considerable, especially when combined with his magic. He may look like a 'pretty-man' fairy, but I was sure that his father would have insured that he was thoroughly combat trained and quite lethal.

We had all laid out our plans, and we continued to discuss and polish details. Batanya returned in Jason's truck with Adele and Thalia. Sookie showed Adele, Jason, and Batanya to the three unoccupied bedrooms upstairs while I showed Godric and Thalia to the two guest chambers downstairs. Ultimately we all gathered around the table again, with an additional chair pulled up for Thalia as Fintan had pulled Adele into his lap. The two government agents' eyes had gone wide at that. However, even they had to admit that the two of them looked very natural together. I wondered for a moment if the agents remembered that Adele was actually the 'youngster' in that relationship.

We all continued talking until Jason began yawning. Shortly, he announced that he was heading up to bed, and Fintan announced that he would accompany Adele up to _their_ bedroom and return. He returned a while later, and then my phone rang. I signaled for everyone to be silent, then hit the speakerphone function button.

"Viking, have you had a chance to review the plans I sent you?" Victor asked without preamble.

I looked around the table, "yes, I have, Victor. Very impressive."

"So now you see that I'm very serious. You've been joking about my plans for world domination, so to speak, but I hope you can see that my plan will succeed. We will be the engineers of a new age."

"What exactly is my role in this new world order?" I asked.

"You are very well known as a warrior, Viking, and I envision you as the head of my security forces. You would be my Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – general of the general, if you will. Feel the potential power coursing through you, my friend," Victor answered. I would swear that I could hear the smarmy smile in his voice.

I paused for a moment, "beside you, who would be superior to me, and who would I answer to? What would my duties be?" I paused again, "I'm trying to figure out my place in your regime."

"If you can bring me the two fairies you can tell _me_ your place in my regime. Can you… ? Bring them to me?" he asked.

"That depends," I answered. Fintan looked at me in question.

"On what?" he asked.

"On what you will do to them, with them, if I deliver them to you," I answered. We all waited for his response.

"They will be treated like royalty, which I believe they are. As long as they cooperate, they will have a most exalted place in our ranks," he sounded positively celebratory. I looked at Sookie and she just rolled her eyes.

Again I paused, "can we meet and settle terms for all of this? Including a schedule for compliance?" I asked.

It was Victor's turn to pause, "a schedule? Why do we need a schedule? Let's just join forces right fucking now."

This was not at all what anyone around the table had expected. "Victor, I won't do anything without assurances. Especially where the safety and well-being of Sookie and her brother are concerned. Or without knowing that we will not be forced apart. Surely, you can understand that," I countered.

"Surely, you don't anticipate that the two of you will remain together 24/7, do you? You both might have assignments that will keep you from each other from time to time," he said.

"That's what I want to iron out with you," I replied.

"There's nothing to iron out, Viking. Either you are with me and following my orders, or you aren't. It's as simple as that. No discussion is necessary."

I put the phone on mute. "Godric, what do you think he will do if I just flat out refuse under these circumstances?" I asked.

"How badly does he want Sookie and Jason?" Fintan asked and Godric nodded.

"Pretty badly, I think," I answered.

Godic then stated, "then I suggest you decline his offer and inform him you are sending Sookie and Jason to Fae for their safety. Then see what he has to say."

Victor asked, "Viking, are you still there?"

I took the phone off of mute, "yes, I'm still here."

"What is your answer?"

"Well, Victor, under those circumstances, I must decline your offer to join you. Further,"

Victor cut me off, "you will regret that, Viking."

"FURTHER, I will be sending Sookie and Jason tonight to live with their relatives in Fae for their safety. I had truly hoped to avoid doing that, but you have left me no other choice," I concluded. "Good luck with your plans for world domination."

"Hold on, hold on, hold on, Viking. Don't hang up," he responded really quickly. I looked at Godric who was smiling. "I'll meet with you tomorrow night to set up your _assurances_ ," he said the last word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"We can meet at Fangtasia, if you like," I offered, knowing full-well that he would turn it down.

"Oh ho, so I'm welcome in your area once more. However, I think I would like to meet outside of your area. There's a little town about ten miles south of Alexandria called LeCompte. Do you know of it?" he asked.

"I've heard of it," I admitted.

"There's a famous diner there called Lea's Lunchroom right on Highway 71. The diner marks the exact half-way spot between Shreveport and New Orleans. Be in the front parking lot at midnight."

That seemed strange, but I didn't say so. "OK. I'll see you then."

"And Viking, come alone," he warned.

"Got it," and we hung up. I looked around the table again.

"I don't like it, Eric. I think it's too dangerous," Sookie whispered.

"I don't think Victor knows about this house, and you will have Godric, Thalia, and Batanya guarding your family," I offered.

"I'm not worried about me! I think it's too dangerous for you," she said.

I smiled and hugged her to me, "I'll be fine. He obviously wants you very badly, so he won't do anything to me at least until he has you and Jason" I tried to reassure her. "Plus, as I've mentioned before, he'll find that I am very, very hard to kill."

Fintan added, "Sookie, as long as Eric is wearing that ring, I'll be able to find him no matter where he is. And you know that I am not without resources." He cocked an eyebrow. I took that to mean that he could summon fairy warriors fairly easily.

Clovache also stated, "no matter what, Sookie, Eric will have both of us as backup tomorrow night."

Sookie shook her head, "I don't get it, Eric. What makes me and Jason so darn important? And does he think we are just going to totally betray our country just on his say so? There's a bigger picture here that we have to be missing."

"Maybe that's a question the Eric should ask Victor, so that I can listen to the real answer," Fintan said.

Homeland Security added, "that's a very good idea. To tell the truth, I was kind of wondering about how much help the Stackhouses could be, myself." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, "here's a list of things that have been bothering me since this whole thing started. I've been adding to the list as things occur to me." He slid the paper across the dining room table to me.

I quickly read over the list nodding at the good points, which most of them were, and then I cut my eyes to Fintan, "we have our work cut out for us tomorrow night."

 **Really long AN:** Ok, I just got my first really negative review, and it was a little perplexing. If it had been about my writing or the story itself, I might have felt differently about it. However, someone signed in only as Guest said that she had read only to Chapter 23 and refused to continue reading my story because of how off-putting she found my constant non-review **shaming**. In uber-polite terms she dismissed my story and wished me luck in getting reviews. I recall that I made a joke _once_ about review-karma and commented once, maybe twice about the follower/reviewer ratio. In 47 chapters (and I'm just paranoid enough to have looked back through them all), that hardly seems like _constant_ shaming to me. I thank every reviewer, every chapter. Am I over-thanking people? I guess her comments left me a little embarrassed, which I suppose was her intention.

Have I asked for reviews? Absolutely, I have. Oh well… I will no longer _beg_ for reviews as she said, and if you have felt 'shamed' by me, I truly apologize. That was never my intent. However, the reviews are what have inspired me to spend hundreds of hours and neglect things in my personal life to write this story. I realize all fanfic writers spend a lot of time writing their stories. A few years ago I was inspired to publish my first story on fanfic in _The Hunger Games_ world; I'd read the books, and it was in the middle of all the movies coming out, so it was timely. But so few people read or commented on it, that I eventually abandoned it. It didn't feel like it was worth the effort. Perhaps it was because the story was told from the perspective of one of the adult characters, and I had hoped that other adults, like me, would find that interesting. This _True Blood_ story was different from the outset, and I doubt that I would have made it this far without the reader support I get from you all. Your reviews have brightened my days so many times, and criticism or not, I will continue to thank you. I hope you will stay with me to the end. We're getting closer.

Also, Lea's Lunchroom is a real place; it used to be called Lea's Baked Ham and Pies. It's very famous for their blue-plate-special-type menu and most especially their pies. They are exactly half-way between New Orleans and Shreveport. The founder, Lea Johnson, was even on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson once. I should know… I was born in LeCompte.

As I said, I will continue to really, really appreciate and thank you for your reviews, as of ll/20/17: princessspot5, Casey8686, Asami's clown, ljhjelm49, VampMad50, Jfozz, tleel, Duckbutt, ericlover69, Hummingbirdgrrl, Nicolle1977, bttrflybelle, jackie69, 2 Guests, elliebaby33, LolJasperLol, MsNorthman, Perfecta999, ciasteczko, celajwhitney


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49 – Get Set

 _Last time:_

 _Homeland Security added, "that's a very good idea. To tell the truth, I was kind of wondering about how much help the Stackhouses could be, myself." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, "here's a list of things that have been bothering me since this whole thing started. I've been adding to the list as things occur to me." He slid the paper across the dining room table to me._

 _I quickly read over the list nodding at the good points, which most of them were, and then I cut my eyes to Fintan, "we have our work cut out for us tomorrow night."_

Now:

Soon afterward those who were going to depart our house did so, and those who were going to stay there retired to their quarters. Finally, Sookie and I were left alone in… our house. We were still sitting in our seats together at the end of the dining table. I just looked at her, and she just looked at me. After a few moments we just chuckled together. I shook my head and drew her to me for a worried embrace. Her arms were around my neck, and I could feel her shaking her head.

"Will there ever be time when things are just… calm… in our lives?" she asked.

"I'm sure there will be, my love. I know things feel really unsettled now," I paused and she snickered, "but I feel pretty sure that this problem is short term. You forget that vampires tend to view things in the long term. My love, soon this will be behind us, and we will laugh at this as the adventure it was. Hopefully, in a few decades, or centuries, we will think that this was just the exciting beginning of our lives together."

She looked up at me with such trusting eyes, "you really think so?"

I smiled at her and brushed some hair behind her ear, "absolutely, my love. We are going to have a very long life together, I promise you."

She looked at me through narrowed eyes, "have you ever made a promise you didn't or couldn't keep?"

I shook my head, "never. Not once… in a thousand years."

Even though she had tears rolling down her cheeks, she said, "thank you, Eric. Thank you for doing all of this for our protection." I smiled at her. "Now, we have at least two things to discuss. First, how could you not tell me that our bonding could kill you if I died?"

I leaned my head over to the side, "Sookie, if I had told you that… you never would have bonded with me." She nodded. "I _needed_ to bond with you, to feel that closeness with you, more than anything I'd ever needed in a thousand years. You are it for me, Sookie. You were the reason I was born, the reason I was made vampire, the reason for my very existence. It may have taken me a thousand years to find you, but find you I did. There was nothing more natural to my existence than bonding with you. I wasn't lying when I said that I would rather have a little time with you than an eternity without you." I looked at her, and tears were still rolling down her cheeks, and I rested my forehead against hers. "I love you, Sookie. You are the other half of me. Vampires are very possessive of their lives. But unlike most vampires, your life means more to me than my own. You are the most important thing in the world to me – more important than my own existence. Please don't deny the joy of our bond. I couldn't bear it if you ever resented our connection."

She looked up at me with eyes that spoke of indecision. My heart, which didn't actually beat, stopped. I took an unnecessary breath and let it out. Her feelings were all over the place, so it was hard for me to narrow in on what she was actually thinking. And then, quite suddenly, her emotions shifted to one – resolve. I waited for her to speak.

"I love you, too, Eric. You're it for me, too. Shoot, you wouldn't have the daywalking advantage if we hadn't bonded, so there's that." I smiled at her, and she continued, "we will get through to the other side of this. But, from now on, I want to have all the facts when we make big decisions, OK?"

I nodded, "OK."

She continued, "because I'd really hate to kick you out of _my_ house." She raised one eyebrow at me.

I chuckled, "about that…"

She chuckled as well, "it's OK. I understand why you did it, but, again, don't keep me in the dark about such things." I nodded again. "Can we go to bed now? I'm starting to get a little sleepy."

I swooped her up into my arms. "I thought you'd never ask," I said as I waggled my eyebrows, which in turn made her giggle. I had us both naked and in our bed in a matter of seconds. I took special care to make sure that Sookie was good and sleepy before all was said and done. I lay there with her slumbering in my arms thinking about the upcoming meeting with Victor. I was thinking about the specific questions I wanted to ask that would have him thinking of the things that Fintan could learn for us. I also thought about various ways to secure my safety during the meeting. I was going to get up and work for a while, but first I wanted to just enjoy holding my Sookie.

Soon, I was flying in the night sky, and I saw my destination up ahead. I came down smoothly into the parking lot of Lea's Lunchroom. I looked around me, but I didn't see Victor anywhere. Where was he?

"Hello, Eric," said a voice coming from the far side of the diner. I saw the figure of a man, but he was so deep in the shadows that I couldn't make him out even with vampire-enhanced vision. However, the voice was most decidedly not Victor's.

"Hello…?" I responded. I waited for him to continue, to reveal himself.

There was a very long pause before he spoke again, "you are going to lose this battle, you know. The cards are so much more stacked against you than you realize."

"How do you know that I will lose?" I asked.

"Because, I'm the one who actually stacked the deck," he answered and started moving forward. "And when you are dying, you will know that it was I who killed you." He finally moved into the light.

IT WAS JASON!

"Why? Why would you do this, Jason?" I asked in horror.

He just laughed and popped away.

I sat straight up in the bed and gasped. I looked around the bedroom and realized that this was another dream. I must have been sleeping again. I shook my head and wondered why I would dream that Jason would betray me, betray us.

"Eric, are you all right?" Sookie asked in a very sleepy voice.

I rubbed my face with my hands, "I'm fine. I just had… a nightmare, I think."

She propped herself up on an elbow, "a nightmare? What happened?"

"Actually nothing really horrible happened. It's just…" I shook my head. "It's just, someone I trust, someone I would never suspect betrayed me."

"Anyone I know?" she asked softly.

I turned and looked at her in silence for a moment, "your brother."

"Jason?" she repeated and I nodded. "Well, that's just crazy. Jason would never betray you. He's actually quite fond of you. He told me he thinks you will be a 'cool' brother-in-law," she smiled.

"In my dream, he told me he would be the one who killed me," I said.

"What did he say… exactly" she asked.

"He said, 'And when you are dying, you will know that it was I who killed you',"

"Those were his exact words?" she asked and I nodded. "Well, that couldn't have been Jason. His grammar's never been that perfect." I raised an eyebrow, and she continued, "he would have said 'it was me who killed you'. It was just a dream, Eric."

Was it me, or was that pretty slim evidence to base her premise on? But when I thought about it, I remembered that Jason's voice sounded completely different in my dream. Also, he didn't have his usual southern accent either. I nodded, "it really didn't sound like Jason, now that you mention it."

"There now. You're just not used to dreaming, Eric. That's all," she comforted. I shook my head and chuckled. "Come on, let's go back to sleep. You probably need some more." We laid back down, and Sookie rolled into my arms. Again, I marveled at how good she felt in my arms. How good her soft, warm skin felt against me. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, Sookie was gone. I turned and looked at the clock; it was 11:43 a.m. She was right; I must have needed the sleep. That was still such a strange concept to me, this needing sleep thing. Ah well, at least all these changes to my… body… included the ability to walk in the sun were something new and different. Needing sleep was a miniscule price to pay for that miracle.

I got up, showered, dressed, and left our bedroom for the day. I passed the bedrooms that Godric and Thalia were using on my way up to the main part of the house. Even as old as they both were, they would be down for quite a while yet. I couldn't help the snicker as I passed their doors. When I got to the main floor I was drawn to the floor to ceiling windows in the den in the back. I pressed a hand against the glass and just held it there for a moment. It would be a while before being in sunlight became the norm.

While standing there, I heard some noise coming from the kitchen. I walked in there and found Adele busily preparing food while Fintan sat on one of the barstools watching her work. "Good morning," I said.

Adele screamed and nearly dropped the pan she was carrying from the sink to the stove. I used my vamp speed to keep it from crashing to the floor. "My stars, Eric," she said with the palm of her hand pressed to her chest. Fintan was snickering. She continued, "you scared the heck out of me. I thought that Fin and I were alone here during the day. What are you doing up here during the day?"

I looked at him, "you didn't tell her about my daywalking?"

Before he could answer she turned to him, "you knew about this? How could you not tell me?"

I wondered why she was so upset until I took a deep breath. I could smell the tell-tale scent of recent sex here in the kitchen. I raised my eyebrows and looked at Fintan. He shook his head to warn me not to speak of it.

"Adele, my love, I simply didn't think of it. That's all. Besides, I was monitoring him the entire time. If he had been coming up earlier, I surely would have… told you," he answered.

She raised a single eyebrow, indicating that his answer was only partially acceptable at best. "Nevertheless, you should have told me." She gave him a very pointed look, and what do you know, the high prince of the sky fae actually looked sheepish. At the mere glance of a human woman. He must really love her, I thought with a grin.

"Yes, I really do," he said looking at me. I couldn't help the wide smile that crossed my face, and after a moment, a smile crossed his face as well.

"And just what are you two young men smiling about?" asked the octogenarian of the two thousand-year-old supernatural beings.

Still smiling, Fintan answered, "just a shared thought of love, my love."

Again, she gave him a skeptical look, "uh huh."

At that _declaration_ I cracked up laughing. "Are you finding everything you need, Adele?" I asked.

She finally smiled, "yes, Eric. Thank you for opening your home to us."

"Well, this is Sookie's home as well, so you know you are always welcome here. Hopefully, we will get this current threat under control, and the next time you visit will be under much more pleasant circumstances." I smiled at her, and she returned the gesture with a nod.

I sat at the bar next to Fintan, who was apparently waiting for Adele to finish making a meal. I put my elbows on the counter and rubbed my face.

"What is bothering you, Eric?" Fintan asked.

For the first time since I'd arisen today I thought about my nightmare, "I had a bad dream. Dreams are new to me, and I am unused to… processing them."

Fintan squinted his eyes and asked, "tell me about your dream."

"Really?" I asked. He nodded, and I proceeded to tell him. His eyes widened when I described how the Jason from my dream had spoken to me.

"Was there anything other than how he was speaking that was different about the Jason in your dream?" he asked.

I looked at him wondering what he was trying to get at. "Come to think about it, he was dressed differently… like nothing I've ever seen Jason wear, but nothing really weird."

Fintan was silent for a little longer than I was comfortable with. Finally he said, "I have an idea, but I want to listen to this Victor Madden's thoughts before I say anything."

"You think this dream means something?" I asked.

"I don't know yet, but I promise I will let you know when I know something," he said. "On another subject, I was wondering if you were prepared to supply my granddaughter with appropriate wedding jewels?"

"Fintan," Adele snapped. "Sookie doesn't expect such things."

"But I, as her grandfather, do," he said and turned his gaze on me.

I smiled and said, "wait here." I went to my safe to retrieve the necklace and bracelet I'd bought for Sookie for the wedding. I returned to the kitchen, "are these sufficient?" I said as I opened the cases they were in.

Adele leaned over the counter, "oh my word, those are so lovely."

Fintan said, "Adele, please, let me make that call." She looked at him a little put out, but she turned and walked back to her cooking.

Fintan lifted the large stones on the ends of the necklace that crossed in front of the neck and looked at them as if he had a jeweler's loupe. Finally he declared, "these are acceptable."

Adele clucked, "Fintan."

To which he responded with a raised eyebrow, "Adele." She just shook her head. I smiled at their antics and returned the jewels to my safe.

"How are you going to this town, LeCompte, tonight?" Fintan asked.

"I was going to fly, but I think I will take my SUV instead," I answered. "Do you think it would be better if you and Clovache rode with me most of the way?"

"Are there cameras on the road along the route?" Fintan asked.

Good question for someone who doesn't normally reside in this realm. "Yeah, there will be a few along the way," I answered.

"Then I suggest we not ride with you. It is clear that this Victor has advanced technological surveillance capabilities. In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't discovered your connection to those two government agents," Fintan stated.

"As am I," I admitted.

Fintan seemed to be thinking something over, and then he asked, "is our water fae friend still in your custody?" I nodded.

Fintan stared into space for a moment before he said, "as soon as I eat, I may want to try an experiment with him, if that's all right with you."

I nodded and shrugged in response. I wasn't too worried about the Weres guarding during the day. They were very loyal to me and wouldn't talk about me being there during the day.

After he'd finished his meal, he helped Adele clean the kitchen while I worked away on my laptop. When they were done he asked Adele to go to her room and lock herself in, since there were no guards for her during the daytime. He then told me that he'd be right back. A few minutes later he returned with Jason in tow.

"Is this going to take long, Granddaddy? I was just in the middle of that job," Jason said.

"It shouldn't take too long. I just need to see something that may be related to your safety," Fintan answered. "Eric, can we go to Tannis now?"

"Do you want to drive over?" I asked.

"That would take too long. Give me your hand," he answered. I did, and we were immediately inside the warehouse. The guards all jumped and had their guns aimed at us at once. I was trying to find my balance from the sudden transport. I held my hand up to the guards and told them of the necessity of keeping my appearance here during the day a carefully guarded secret. The all nodded their acceptance.

Fintan turned to his grandson, "Jason, you wait here until I send for you. And when you come in, say nothing unless I ask you a question." Jason nodded, and one of the Were guards accompanied us into the area where Tannis was being held. While we were walking there, Fintan said to the Were with us, "when I nod to you, go back and get Jason." The Were nodded.

We got to the cell, and Tannis stood up with more than a little fear in his eyes at the sight of Fintan. "Tannis, I am doing everything I can to find your children and bring them here to you. But first I need to ask you a few questions." Tannis nodded. "Have any of the sky fae joined forces with Breandan?"

Tannis tilted his head to the side, "I'm not sure. There have been some fae who have come from the outside of our clan, but I don't know if they are water or sky fae. Why?"

Fintan nodded to the Were who went out and retrieved Jason. At the sight of him, Tannis backed up in the cell and Fintan tilted his head and closed his eyes. Finally, Fintan said, "you've seen this fae before, have you not?" Tannis looked with frightened eyes at Fintan, who added, "it is all right. He will not hurt you, this I swear." Finally Tannis nodded. "Where, Tannis, where have you seen this fae before?"

Tannis hesitated for a moment, "with Breandan. Many times. He gave the instructions for the raid on the Stackhouses before we left for this realm."

"I appreciate your cooperation, Tannis. I will redouble my efforts to locate your children and bring them safely to you," Fintan told him. He turned to leave for the other area of the warehouse, and Jason and I followed.

After we'd gotten to the other room, Jason asked, "what was that all about?"

Fintan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back while Jason and I waited for an answer. Finally he said, "I had thought that this was a bad situation, but it is so much worse than I thought." And he continued to pace.

What the hell? Was he going to tell us? I looked at Jason, and I could tell that he was just as confused as I was. We waited for him to stop his pacing and tell us, but I could see from the determined expression on his face that he was making his own calculations for how to handle whatever situation his grandchildren now found themselves in. At last I couldn't wait any longer, "Fintan, just what the hell is going on?"

"It appears, Eric, that you have received the gift of prophecy. Your dream wasn't just a meaningless dream. I suspected that was the case when you told me of it, but now I have confirmed it," he responded.

I turned and looked at Jason, who just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm afraid I need more of an explanation, Fintan."

"It wasn't Jason you saw in your dream; it was my twin brother Dermot. Jason looks just like him," he answered and Jason gasped. "Dermot is my younger brother by only a few minutes, but I was still the firstborn, and therefore the heir to the throne. He has resented this his entire life, and early on he became quite the trouble-maker, and he really hated me. Ultimately he caused so much discord and strife in our realm, that my father exiled him. I haven't seen him in a few centuries, and we had no idea where he went or what he was doing. Apparently he has allied with Breandan of the water fae." Fintan shook his head and chuckled ruefully, "which is ironic, since Dermot is a half-blood."

That didn't make sense, "why would Breandan ally with him since he plans to eradicate all fae who aren't pure-blood?"

"I think he must see him as some means to an end. Perhaps he is using him for some greater plan. Whatever his reasons, this revolution of yours just crossed into the fae realm." He looked at Jason, "I now know that it would be completely unsafe to take Jason and Sookie there, so that option is off the table, so to speak."

Jason shrugged, "that's just as well, since we weren't going there anyway."

"I'm relieved that you're not trying to kill me," I said to Jason who just returned a lop-sided grin to me.

Fintan added, "I really need for you to focus some of your questions on the reason that Victor wants my grandchildren. I think that may lead him to think about the fae part of this whole plan." I nodded. "Now I need to get Jason back to work, and with that he took our hands, dropped me at my house, took Jason back to wherever he'd gotten him from, and returned.

I looked at him, "Sookie said last night that there was a bigger picture that we were missing."

He looked at me, "she's so, so smart. I had no idea that it was possible that fae was a part of that declaration. You need to ask questions about fae, about how Sookie and Jason are supposed to be these all-important secret weapons. You might even mention that Sookie doesn't think that makes sense. Get Victor thinking as much as possible about how the fae are involved. Also, ask questions that might lead him to think about who is really calling the shots in this realm. I fear that Sookie is right about so many more things than we had thought."

We talked and strategized the afternoon away. Sooner than I realized, Jason, Sookie, and their Britlingen guards were walking through the front door, and Godric and Thalia were coming upstairs. We all met and strategized some more. Shortly, the two government agents had also joined us. Fintan explained about my dream and his twin brother so that everyone was up to speed. Wisely, neither he nor Jason mentioned our little visit to Tannis – Jason had been warned not to speak of it. Both agents had raised their eyebrows about that little revelation.

I asked the two agents if they planned to wait here until I returned, and they did. However, they also informed that they had set up surveillance all around Lea's Lunchroom during the day. They were using cameras and high powered microphones spaced all around the parking lot, but they had been very careful to hide them well.

"I hope we stay at that parking lot or nearby," I said. They understood that it was possible that Victor might try to move the meeting elsewhere, however, I was going to do my best to control that.

It was about a two hour drive to the designated meeting spot, so I left home about a quarter to ten and drove straight there. I arrived about fifteen minutes early so that I could scope out the terrain. Without getting out of my SUV I looked all around. I briefly rolled down the windows to take in any scents that may be lingering around. I found nothing of concern and rolled the windows back up and waited. I brought this vehicle for two reasons: first, it was a vehicle that I could leave behind without much regret if I needed to, and second, I had paid extra to have the entire car bullet-proofed. While waiting for Victor to arrive I scoped out where any snipers could lurk in the area and parked accordingly. If I had to get out of the car, I hoped that I had found the best way to avoid being an easy target.

Midnight came and went. Victor was late. That made me uncomfortable. A car rolled slowly forward from the opposite direction at exactly ten minutes after midnight – ten of the longest minutes of my life, while I imagined all of the things that could be going on. The other car pulled up next to mine and the back window rolled down. Victor said, "Viking, so glad to see you."

"You're late," was all I replied.

Victor shrugged and offered no explanation. "Are we going to sit here in our cars and talk, or shall we get out and take a little walk?" he asked.

I nodded, and he got out of his car which pulled forward. I turned off the motor of my car and got out as well. A passenger from his car came forward and waved an electronic wand over me. It beeped only on my phone, which I removed from my pocket and showed him. I then put it back in my pocket. Victor walked up to me and gestured forward. We walked in step with each other for about twenty feet and then Victor turned to face me, "it is time for you to join me. I want the Stackhouses delivered to me tomorrow night."

"So soon? Why the rush?" I asked hoping to get him thinking about things that would be helpful to our cause, and hoping against hope that Fintan was nearby listening in. I also looked around because I was sure there must be a specific reason that Victor had maneuvered me to this exact spot.

"I'm ready to move forward. You need to learn that you answer to me now," he responded.

"Not yet," I replied.

"What does that mean?" Victor asked with a tinge of anger in his voice.

"We came here so that you could give me assurances about many things, and you have offered none. All you've done is make demands," I answered.

"OK, I'll play along, what assurances do you need?" he asked with a smarmy smile. I noticed his wording was indulgent, which I tried not to let get me immediately pissed off.

"When you ask me to turn over the Stackhouses, what does that mean, EXACTLY?" I asked.

Victor tilted his head to the side, and I could swear there was a hint of confusion on his face, "I don't think that is a very complicated issue. You hand them over to me, and they become mine. I will be their new master."

I shook my head, "No. Way. Besides, Sookie and I are bonded. By law, she can't belong to any other than me."

Victor nodded, "I will respect the bond, but she will still belong to me. As will the boy. That is non-negotiable." He paused then added, "welcome to the new world order and its new laws for vampires."

I was silent for a long moment, knowing full well that I would never agree to terms like that. Knowing that Victor knew I would never agree to those terms. I chuckled anyway, "Why do you want them so badly anyway. There's no way they can be the secret weapons you are dreaming of." Hopefully that got his thinking going in the direction we wanted. "And why exactly does this all have to happen so damn fast?"

Victor just tilted his head at me, "why all these questions?"

"I want assurance not only for Jason and Sookie, but also for myself. I need to know that this plan will not get me killed," I answered.

"You saw how thorough my plan is," he answered.

"Are you even the top vampire in this? This seems really involved for someone who has never ranked higher than second to the king of Nevada…" I answered. Victor bristled at that statement. I continued, "At any rate, Sookie and I are getting married on Friday. The invitations have gone out. She made it clear to me that nothing could happen until after our wedding… Just fyi."

And just as Godric predicted, Victor said, "Can you not control your human, Northman?"

I smirked, "I need hardly remind you that she is not human. And not only is she a fairy, but also she's a fairy princess. Besides, I take great pleasure in making her happy." I shrugged after that statement.

"Out of the question. You will surrender them to me tomorrow night. There will be NO wedding; they will be mine, and if you are an obedient member of my retinue, I will let you have limited visitation rights with your bonded. You either agree to this, or I will have you killed and take them for myself without you."

Now I was sure of it, Victor was crazy if he thought I'd agree to that. I leveled him with my coldest stare. For a long time. He looked back at me with what he hoped was an equally scary look. I didn't blink once. Soon, he began to fidget, and he looked away. I said in a voice that brooked no argument, "do not ever threaten me or mine again. There's no resting place that you could have that would be secure enough to protect you from me. I do not need you, but apparently you need my fiancé and her brother for reasons you will not reveal. You would do well to remember that I do not respond well, AT ALL, to threats."

Victor was also pissed, "those are my terms. What is your answer?"

"Your terms are unacceptable. I made sure before I left to come here that you could never find Sookie or Jason. In addition, if I don't return by a certain time, all of your plans are scheduled to go out to the human authorities. You've threatened the wrong fucking vampire, asshole."

"Bad decision, Viking," he said looking at my chest. I looked down and saw a half dozen red laser spots right over my heart. Victor chuckled, "wooden bull…."

I never heard the rest of his statement because Fintan must have put his hand on my shoulder and popped us all back to my house.

Adele, Sookie, Jason, Batanya, Godric, Thalia, Agent Langford, and Agent Pettigrew all rushed into the foyer of the house where we were standing. Once I was steady on my feet again, I turned to Fintan, "please tell me you got what you needed," I said.

He smirked, "that and so much more…"

 **AN:** Thank you so much for the kind words regarding the negative reviewer – specifically for saying so many great things about enjoying this story. To paraphrase the marvelous jackie69, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for using your free time to _read_ my little story.

Also, a long overdue reminder, I don't own anything.

Thank you so, so much for all of you who took the time to leave a review since the last chapter. As of 11/24/17: Asami's clown, Medtran, 2 Guests, Another Guest, hummingbirdgrrl, bttrflybelle, princessspot5, VampMad50, MsNorthman, Jfozz, Perfecta999, Duckbutt, tleel, ciasteczko, jackie69, ljhjelm49, celajwhitney, mycajunlover, ericlover69, grammysharbear2, billbreaker13


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50 – Go!

 _Last time:_

" _Your terms are unacceptable. I made sure before I left to come here that you could never find Sookie or Jason. In addition, if I don't return by a certain time, all of your plans are scheduled to go out to the human authorities. You've threatened the wrong fucking vampire, asshole."_

" _Bad decision, Viking," he said looking at my chest. I looked down and saw a half dozen red laser spots right over my heart. Victor chuckled, "wooden bull…."_

 _I never heard the rest of his statement because Fintan must have put his hand on my shoulder and popped us all back to my house._

 _Adele, Sookie, Jason, Batanya, Godric, Thalia, Agent Langford, and Agent Pettigrew all rushed into the foyer of the house where we were standing. Once I was steady on my feet again, I turned to Fintan, "please tell me you got what you needed," I said._

 _He smirked, "that and so much more…"_

Now:

All I could think was thank the gods. I leaned over and placed my hands on my knees to steady myself from the teleportation. I needed to do something before we resumed our war council. I stood straight, faced Fintan, bowed my head to him, and said, "Your highness, I thank you most sincerely for your help this evening, knowing full-well what those words mean in your culture." I was very aware that saying the words 'thank you' to a fairy put you under an obligation when called upon. I didn't care because he had earned it as far as I was concerned. Fintan just gave me a soft smile and nodded his head to me. He then crossed into the dining room with a notebook and pencil.

Homeland Security broke the moment, "so, what happened?"

Fintan gestured for me to start, "Victor told me he wanted the Stackhouses tomorrow, that there would be NO wedding, and that if I was a very, very good little vampire that _maybe_ he'd let me see Sookie on a very infrequent basis. That he would be their new master, and if I didn't comply, he would simply kill me and take them anyway. That's when I saw the laser sites on my chest, and Fintan popped me home.

"Oh my God…" Sookie said as she ran into my arms.

"So you couldn't buy us any time," Homeland Security stated rather than asked.

"I tried, truly. But he wasn't going to budge even a second," I answered. "Can we take this back into the dining room?" It seemed silly for us to be all just standing around the foyer of the house. Just before everyone was seated, there was a knock on the door, and everyone froze. Surely Victor hadn't found us this fast. No one moved; I think that no one even breathed.

I walked silently to the door and looked through the peephole, then let out a sigh of relief. "Sookie, come here please." She joined me at the door, which I opened to reveal Rasul and Pam.

Sookie smiled broadly and said, "Rasul, Pam, won't you please come in." The two of them entered, and Sookie gave them both a big hug. I hugged Pam and clasped Rasul's forearm in our customary warrior's greeting, and then I hugged him, too. Godric came over, kissed Pamela's cheek and hugged his step-son. We escorted them into the dining room, where they were greeted warmly.

We added another leaf to the table and additional chairs so that everyone could have a seat. Once we were seated, FBI asked, "Mr. Northman, did you drive to the site tonight?" I nodded. He continued, "and you left your car there?" Again, I nodded. "He may be able to trace you here through that vehicle."

I shook my head, "the registered address for that car is The Bonne Chance. Plus, Victor was ten minutes late to the meeting, so during that time I removed the operational circuit from the GPS system." I pulled the circuit from my pocket and placed it on the table. "Luckily I had put that circuit in the same pocket as my phone, which allowed them to miss it on the wand screening. I think we are safe here at the moment, but that doesn't mean that Victor's cybertechs won't eventually find this house. You should also know that I have a small army of about a dozen Were's surreptitiously patrolling the perimeter of this property at the moment." I turned to Rasul, "has anyone brought you up to speed on this?"

He nodded, "Godric called me earlier this afternoon. What can I do to help?"

Godric answered, "that is what we are here to determine this evening." Rasul and Pam nodded.

Jason asked, "how'd the government do today?"

Homeland Security smiled, "we took down more than half of the remaining cells; there are fewer than one quarter of the cells remaining."

Jason's eyes got wide, "wow."

Homeland Security nodded, "the United States government doesn't fuck around, Mr. Stackhouse." I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only one at the table who successfully stifled a snort or snicker at that statement. However, that was pretty impressive.

FBI asked, "will he move forward without the Stackhouses?"

I looked over to Fintan who was furiously scribbling away on his pad. "Fintan? What did you learn?"

Without looking up from his work, he said, "go on talking while I try to capture everything. It should only take a few more minutes."

Sookie stood up, "how about I get everyone something to drink or eat?"

Adele also stood, "of course, Sookie, I'll help you." Batanya walked with them into the kitchen.

I turned to Rasul and Pam, "are you two really all right?"

"Yes, master," Pam said. "More than anything I'm pissed. We had our clothes for your wedding at the palace. We'll need to go shopping again to replace them." Everyone around the table snickered.

I smiled at her, "I'm sure that shopping is a real hardship for you." Godric snorted at that.

"The hardest part was sitting idly in that house. I have a job to do, an important job, and I couldn't do it," Rasul added and looked at Pam who nodded in agreement. "Plus… I'm with Pam; I had just bought that tux." Assorted snickers followed that comment as well.

"The Authority has not been informed of your survival for fear that Victor has spies among them. We will need to let them know soon to prevent the appointment of your replacement," Godric added. "That would create an unnecessary complication. It may be time for me to call the Guardian and fill him in on not only your survival, but also the current status of Victor's… uprising."

Sookie, Batanya, and Adele returned from the kitchen each carrying a tray. Sookie's amazing memory allowed her to serve everyone at the table with their preferred bevarages. The last drink on the table was a glass of red wine for Fintan, at which he looked up and announced he was ready to share what he had learned tonight. He took a rather large gulp from the wine glass.

We all fell to silence waiting for him to speak. He looked at everyone around the table, "first of all, I've made lists of the additional plans that Freyda didn't know about, and I don't believe Victor shared with you, Eric. I think these may be some of the missing pieces for what didn't make sense before." He passed the list down to the two agents. "One of the most important things I learned was the role that fae play in his plans. Eric, you should know that the second you handed them over you were to be killed on sight. He was really going to use Sookie and Jason as secret weapons, and he was planning to bond both of them to himself and then turn them. They would have never been able to leave him or disobey him. Also, if anything ever happened to him, they would die as well. He had planned to pimp Sookie out, but he wanted to keep Jason for himself." He looked at Jason.

Jason looked confused and asked, "what does that mean?"

Fintan looked at him, "he finds you attractive, Jason. You were to become his lover. His thoughts were quite giddy at the prospect."

"Well, I don't swing that way," Jason stated with a bit of anger.

Rasul just looked at him, "ha, let me tell you just how little _your_ inclinations figure into what a maker wants." Godric reached over and put a hand on Rasul's, and Pam put her head on his shoulder. Jason shuddered visibly. After all these centuries, Rasul's eyes still looked haunted from his experience with his maker.

Fintan continued, "but their real value in this specific conflict was that they were to be held as hostages against the sky fae. The plan was that I would order our army of warriors into this realm to rescue my grandchildren, and the water fae would sweep in and conquer the unprotected sky fae in the other realm. This was my brother's plan to usurp our father's throne. Even if I had managed to survive here in this realm, I would have been executed once I returned to fae."

"Oh, my word…" Adele whispered.

Fintan continued, "there is an entire contingency of vampires who have been charged with taking down the sky fae. Obviously, they will have nothing to do now because I have no intention of ordering our army here." He chuckled, "there are going to be some very angry vampires when they don't have the fae banquet they were promised." Everyone around the table chuckled again. "I have written up the specifics of that force on the paper I just handed you," he said to the agents, and they nodded in return. "The purpose of this part of the plan was to confuse the human forces who are ignorant of the existence of fae, and that confusion would prevent them from taking down the actual uprising forces of vampires. Also, in the long run, Victor's forces would ally with the water fae for the subjugation of humans, whom we know Breandan hates."

"Also, Eric," Fintan continued, "here is Victor's resting place while he is in Louisiana." He passed a different piece of paper to me. "He thought of it immediately when you threatened him." Well, at least something had gone right tonight. Fintan smiled, "more went right than you think, Eric." Even with perfect recall, I forget sometimes that he can read my mind, so I smiled and shook my head. Fintan produced a third sheet of paper, "here are some codes. They are meant to either enact Victor's fighting forces or to shut them down. I've noted the differences between the two codes. I also learned that if Victor was unable to secure the Stackhouses for delivery tomorrow night, the code to enact the forces would be sent at 2:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time tomorrow night. You can circumvent that command by issuing the alternate command. The disparate commands should cause enough confusion to prevent the attacks."

The two agents looked at that slip of paper and nodded their approval. FBI asked, "is there any way that you determined to completely undermine the attack code?"

Fintan answered, "I've given you the way to access their command structure in relation to the codes. Surely you have technicians who can figure that out." Both agents nodded. "Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I've learned that the real leader behind all of this is a European-based vampire. This vampire has amassed fighting forces throughout Europe similar to Victor's. Those forces would be activated once the Americans were conquered. Victor thought of him only as The Roman. Does that mean anything to any of you?"

The vampires at the table all stirred with recognition. Godric asked, "did he think of the title 'The Roman' or of the name Roman? The head of The Authority in America is named Roman Zimojic."

Fintan answered immediately, "no, I'm sure he was thinking _The_ Roman. He never thought of his name, but if I saw a picture of his face, I could verify it."

"What does that mean?" Homeland Security asked.

Godric answered, "it probably refers to a vampire who was alive during the era of the Roman Empire. No, that's not entirely correct… I was alive during the Roman Empire as was Thalia. I think more specifically it is referring to someone who was actually a Roman during the days of the Roman Empire. There are actually several vampires that I can think of who would fit that description."

Rasul spoke up, "my true maker was a Roman, and he had a brother who was also a vampire. They were actual brothers as well as vampire brothers who shared the same maker."

Godric and I looked at each other. We were both thinking the same thing based on our recollections of Rasul's maker. I asked, "Rasul, your maker was Appius Livius Ocella, right?" He shuddered at the mention of the name and nodded. "What was his brother's name?"

Rasul didn't hesitate, "Junius Tiberius Ocella."

"Did you ever meet him?" Godric asked. Again, Rasul nodded. "Can you picture him in your mind, please?" Godric asked. Rasul closed his eyes, and Godric looked at Fintan.

Fintan responded immediately, "that's him. He looks a little different now… more in keeping with the current times, but there's no mistake. That's him. He's the mastermind behind all of this."

I shook my head, "well, that explains why Victor was so willing to take out Rasul." I got up to get my laptop to see if I could find a picture for the two agents to give to Interpol.

Rasul stood and walked to the dining room doorway with his back to us, "who would think that I would still be haunted by my asshole of a maker nearly eight hundred years after his true death."

"Vampires have a long memory," Pam said.

"And you got an awful lot of publicity when you were named Louisiana Liaison Officer," Sookie added.

Godric stated, "do not worry, min son. There is nothing more that he can do to you. I will make sure of it." Rasul placed his hand against the doorframe, bowed his head, and nodded. We all sat in silence for a few minutes, and finally Pamela got up and crossed to in front of him. She first placed her hands on his face, and then she hugged him.

You've got to love the Internet, because I found a picture of Junius Tiberius Ocella fairly easily. "Is this him?" I asked. I turned the laptop around and both Fintan and Rasul stated that it was him. According to the Internet, Junius Tiberius Ocella was currently residing in Milan. I forwarded all the information, as well as his picture to the email accounts of the two government agents. I also sent an email to Maxwell Lee to have Clancy put in the cell next to Freyda's. I was tired of dicking around with Victor, and I was going to do all that I could to prevent his planned mayhem from entering my world. That fucker would have sent me to the true death tonight. Fintan had shown me his resting place; tomorrow I would give him the true death. I looked up at Fintan, and he nodded. I had been silently asking him to pop me there and back.

I looked at the rest of the table, "OK, here's where I think we are. Tomorrow, Sookie and Jason should… call in sick, just in case Victor has mobilized a daytime kidnap squad." Jason sat forward to object, "I know you have contracts waiting to be fulfilled, but I'm just asking for one day in the midst of absolute calamity and chaos. Surely you can do that?" Sookie just took my hand, and Jason nodded. I'll take Victor out during the day tomorrow with Fintan's help." FBI cleared his throat and sat forward, and I just looked at him, "sorry, but the best way in this scenario is the supernatural way, not the human way." Homeland Security nodded and put his hand on FBI's arm to settle him down. "Meanwhile, you two gentlemen work out the logistics of the coded signals we've discussed as well as work with Interpol to take out or take down, I don't care which, Junius Tiberius Ocella of Milan."

Fintan added, "I will contact my father about Dermot and his plans."

"And I will inform The Guardian, Roman Zimojic, of everything tonight. He may have some aid to offer," Godric added.

"I've got a question," FBI stated. "How was Victor able to get so many vampires on his side in this. They had to know that if this plan went south, that it would really damage the image of vampires in America. And if that happened, they would just be making their lives harder. So what gives?"

That was a very good question that no one had asked thus far. I said, "here's what I think… For centuries, we've had to hide what we are. We've had to do all manner of things simply just to blend in. Then we revealed ourselves. Most of us realistically expected that there would be resistance from the humans to our existence, but others had optimistically hoped that we could simply live side by side with the humans. We weren't accepted. So, just like the civil rights movements of the last century, there are many… disgruntled vampires. Vampires who have had enough of hiding, blending in. Vampires who want to be more than just accepted. In addition, to make matters worse, most vampires see themselves as superior to humans, and yet, now that we are living in the open, we are treated by law as second class citizens. Many find this unacceptable."

FBI said, "acceptance takes time. You can't just ram it down throats."

Godric added, "yes, acceptance takes time. Those who are 'unaccepted' often feel that it takes too much time. Just ask racial minorities. The Civil Rights Act in this country was signed by President Johnson in 1964. But there is still racial profiling, there is still an imbalance in prison populations… there is still overall imbalance, even though the act was signed more than fifty years ago. Just look what has been happening recently all over America, often through the most innocuous of acts like traffic stops. Even though vampires generally take the long-view in all things, after centuries of hiding, there are many who are impatient for equal rights and acceptance. The words of Mr. Santayana were never more true, 'those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it'. Remove vampires from the equation, just consider not only civil rights, but also women's rights, and sexual orientation equality. Society seems to need someone or some group to condemn. And I don't see that changing in the near future."

I added, "the two-natured, Weres and shifters, have been talking about their own reveal to the humans for some time now. They've been waiting to see how the human world accepted vampires. I would say that the outcome of this conflict with Victor will determine their decision one way or the other."

Just then my phone rang, "Northman." I listened for a minute, and the vampires and Britlingens all rose. "Thank you, take care." I looked at the table. "That was the head of the security force around the house. He has lost contact with at least half of the Weres on patrol."

"Victor has apparently found your house, Eric," Godric stated, "that was fast."

Sookie closed her eyes, "Eric, I'm not getting any live minds behind the house, but I am getting a lot of voids."

Fintan added, "about ten vampires from the back of the house, and another ten from the front." I quickly dialed a code on my phone. FBI also made a quick phone call.

Homeland Security drew his gun and asked, "you mean this house is about to be attacked by at least twenty vampires?"

"Actually more than that, I just picked up more coming in from the sides," Fintan answered. Adele whimpered in fear.

"What are we going to do, Eric?" Sookie asked. And everyone started talking at once.

"Everyone, calm down," Godric said. "First of all, they can't enter the house without an invitation. However, they can try to destroy the house." Again, there was everyone talking. Godric held up his hands, "that will be what they do as last resort. But remember, we have five very powerful vampires in here, plus two Britlingens, and at least two fairies who can fight with their magic, along with two trained human law enforcement officers."

"I sent out a code to the vampires of my area to come to help," I said calmly, "as well as the local pack master."

FBI added, "as I have done for law enforcement."

Godric, who had taken charge, said, "very good. We just have to hold them off for a little while. I doubt very much that any of these vampires are as old as Thalia and I, nor even as old as Eric and possibly Rasul. So, don't let their numbers frighten you."

I stated, "it's very important that the information that Fintan has provided to the agents get to the proper authorities. Therefore, I think that one of the agents should lock himself in my secure, fire-proof area downstairs with Adele and Sookie. If all else fails, he can protect them as well."

Fintan shook his head, "as loathe as I am to suggest this, Sookie may be needed up here. If I'm right, she has some fierce powers of her own." Sookie looked confused, and he continued, "make a lightball, Sookie."

"But I haven't turned twenty-five yet, Granddaddy," she replied.

"Just as Eric can now walk in the sun, your strength has increased, yes?" he asked and Sookie nodded. "I suspect your powers have not only already manifested, but also that they are stronger than they would have been. Make. A. Lightball."

Sookie put her hands side by side about six inches apart, and a bright ball of light appeared between them, "whoa," was all she said.

"I told you," Fintan said.

FBI took the papers from Homeland Security and said, "I will stay downstairs and guard Adele. I'll make sure the authorities get this information. Homeland Security nodded that this was the right choice. They headed downstairs, where Godric locked them in. Meanwhile the two Britlingens popped out for about ninety seconds and returned in their fighting armor.

Fintan said, "Jason, Sookie, come here." They both stood in front of him. He raised both his hands and ran them down in front of his grandchildren to change their regular clothes to fairy armor. In the space of time it took him to turn around, he was also dressed in armor.

Homeland Security shook his head and said, "cool."

Sookie asked, "Eric, how are the law enforcement officers going to be able to tell the good vampires from the bad when they get here?"

I looked at Homeland Security who said, "is there something they can wear? I don't know, baseball caps or something simple?"

I nodded, "baseball caps. You can pick them up at any convenience store." I began texting as did Homeland Security. Hopefully those messages would get to the right vampires/people in time.

Godric spoke again, "Thalia, Fintan, Eric and Agent Pettigrew, you take the front of the house. That way you can see your reinforcements as they approach the house. Sookie, Jason, Batanya, Clovache, Rasul, Pam, and I will take the back of the house. Britlingens, guard your charges as they take on those approaching from the side with their lightballs." Godric thought for a moment, "most importantly, none of them can escape. If even one escapes, Victor could launch his attack on the entire country sooner rather than later." Agent Pettigrew nodded in agreement.

I looked at Godric, and I knew that he would watch over my love. I nodded to Thalia, Fintan, and Pettigrew. "Fintan and Agent Pettigrew will be best at long range with your lightballs and gun, so you two will be in the center. Thalia and I will work from either side to try and herd the vampires to the center for you. Got it?" All three of them nodded. I was sure that Godric was working out a strategy with his 'team' for the defense of the back of the house. Thalia had her sword, and I had mine. We nodded to each other as the four of us stood in the foyer. I looked to the back of the house, and Godric gave me a nod as well. I glanced through a crack in the curtains out front. There was a car in the circular driveway parked right in front of the door. I turned to my team again, "Fintan, Agent Pettigrew, you should take cover behind the car parked about twenty feet in front of this door." They both nodded, and I continued, "Fintan, light them up directly in front of you." He nodded. "Be ready. I will be right back."

I vamp-sped to the back to make sure that Godric had found my little arsenal; he had, and all the vampires had swords. I nodded to him. I kissed Pamela on the forehead, and then I kissed Sookie on the lips. I could tell she was… if not afraid, then nervous. "Be brave, my love. Soon this will all be over." She smiled wanly and nodded. I kissed her once more then sped back to the front of the house. "Are you ready?" They all nodded, then… let's… **GO!** I jerked the door open as Fintan grabbed Agent Pettigrew's elbow and popped them to the car. Fintan immediately hurled a large lightball far into the area in front of the house. The light ball connected with bushes and set them on fire. Vampires, being highly flammable, started scrambling out, and Fintan started hurling one lightball after another at them. It took Agent Pettigrew a moment to recover not only from his amazement at Fintan's lightballs but also from being popped to the car, something I had recently come to understand for myself, but once recovered he laid down gunfire at the scattering vampires. He also opened the car door for a moment and then closed it. I could tell that he had pulled several ammunition clips from inside. How lucky that this was the agents' car.

Thalia and I took off, she to the left, and I went to the right. I was correct; these were young vampires. If they were as young in the back, this should be an easy battle. I was like a berserker in my rage in my attack on those who were attempting to invade my home, and I was sure Thalia was just as frighteningly deadly. The vampires we didn't kill outright were herded toward the front of the house for Fintan and Agent Pettigrew to take out. I saw out of my periphery that lightballs were being shot from the back of the house at the remaining vampires coming in from the sides, which herded the rest of the rear-advancing enemy to the center where Godric alone could have probably taken them out, but he also had help from Rasul and Pam, not to mention the Britlingens.

Soon the attacking vampires found themselves trapped between those guarding the house, and a small army of vampires and Weres attacking from beyond their positions. I hoped that the same was true behind the house. It looked like my text code had been received and responded to in record time. We continued to fight, and Fintan became more precise with his lightballs – avoiding hitting vampires wearing baseball caps. After a few minutes, we could hear the sounds of many, many sirens wending their way here. Hopefully, they all got the baseball cap memo as well.

I worked my way around to the back of the house. I joined Godric in the center of the action to take down one young, inept vampire after another. Godric and I met in the middle of the 'battlefield' and we looked at each other.

The danger was past. None of the invading vampires had lived or escaped. I threw my head back and just breathed in the night air and roared. By the gods, it had been ages since I'd been able to be… well, me. When I had calmed a bit, I thought of my love.

I walked out into our backyard looking for Sookie. I still had the blood of the vampires I'd slain in battle all over me. "Sookie," I called out. There was nothing… I searched my feelings, and I didn't feel that she was dead. "Sookie," I called again feeling kind of like someone who had gone to the University of Arkansas. "Sookie, my love, please answer me," I shouted.

I heard a soft voice from the side of my house, "Eric? Are you OK?"

I zoomed to the voice, and I found Sookie on the ground. Clovache was still fighting two vampires. I helped her, and we finished quickly. I went back to Sookie, and I knelt down, "are you OK, my Sookie?" I asked.

I heard a glorious chuckling noise, "of course. I'm just dandy."

I pulled her head up to mine, "then why are you here on the ground, my love?" I asked.

"Honestly? I have no idea. Did we beat them?" she asked.

I smiled, "yes, my love, we did. I'm very proud of you." I looked at her, "can you stand up?"

She chuckled again, "yeah, I think so. Wow, this was intense. And so… so…" I waited for her to finish that thought, "so… violent."

I chuckled in return, "indeed."

"Help me stand up, OK?" she asked.

I nodded as I pulled her to her feet. She was totally without injury. "Are you OK to go inside, my love?"

"Absolutely. Don't tell anyone that you found me on my ass, OK?" she said.

I snickered, "why Miss Stackhouse, such language! Did you engage anyone?"

Her forehead crinkled, "Eric, I think I killed quite a few vampires." She took a deep breath, "I mean, I _killed_ them. They are dead because of me…" She started to hiccup with her breathing.

"My love, I am so, so proud of how brave you were. Do you think most young women your age could have survived a battle of this magnitude?" I asked.

She smiled and she shook her head. Then she started crying, "Eric, I killed vampires. A lot of them."

"And I'm very proud of you, Sookie. You were so brave," I said. Just then we could both hear a cell phone ring tone on the ground in the distance. It rang for a few moments, and then a second ring tone from a different cell phone started. Then a third started ringing. After a while, and after several more different ring tones from the phones of more dead vampires, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it. I knew it was Victor calling. I just let it go to voice mail. No answer from me after tonight's escapades would undoubtedly throw him into a tailspin.

"Eric, is everyone else OK?" Sookie asked. That was a very good question.

 **AN:** Whewwwww… (wipes forehead with index finger and flicks). I'm exhausted from this chapter. I wrote it as quickly as I could after leaving you with a quasi-cliffhanger in the previous chapter. Hope you liked…

Thanks so much, as ever, for your reviews and kind words since the posting of the last chapter. As of 11/27/17: Casey 8686, girlyj2727, 3 Guests, tleel, Duckbutt, jazzma18, hummingbirdgrrl, VampMad50, Asami's clown, ericlover69, ljhjelm49, princessspot5, grammysharbear2, Perfecta999, celajwhitney, Asia125, MsNorthman, pattyfullwood, jackie69, fanfictionfan4444


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51 – Rounding the Final Curve

 _Last time:_

 _She smiled and she shook her head. Then she started crying, "Eric, I killed vampires. A lot of them."_

" _And I'm very proud of you, Sookie. You were so brave," I said. Just then we could both hear a cell phone ring tone on the ground in the distance. It rang for a few moments, and then a second ring tone from a different cell phone started. Then a third started ringing. After a while, and after several more different ring tones from the phones of more dead vampires, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it. I knew it was Victor calling. I just let it go to voice mail. No answer from me after tonight's escapades would undoubtedly throw him into a tailspin._

" _Eric, is everyone else OK?" Sookie asked. That was a very good question._

Now:

Sookie walked to the center behind the house, "Jason… Jason. Are you OK?" There was no answer. Sookie's face became strained with panic, "Jason," she shouted, while walking to the opposite side of the house than she had been on. "Jason!"

She and I rounded the back of the house to the side, and there were Jason and Thalia… almost naked and kissing. They probably would have been naked if Jason knew how to undress his new fairy armor.

And just as quickly as she rounded the corner, she fully circled back toward the back yard, "for heaven's sake Jason… GET A ROOM!"

I could be wrong, but I could swear I heard Thalia giggling like a schoolgirl. I just shook my head and smiled. Jason called out, "Sook!" I guess Thalia really did like Jason.

Sookie called out "Batanya, Clovache!" Clovache came around the corner from the side of the house that Sookie had been on and a few seconds later Batanya made herself uninvisible in front of us. Apparently she was accustomed to going invisible when Jason… got busy.

Godric was fine as was Rasul. Pamela, however, had a wound through her left shoulder. I went to her at the same time Rasul did, just in time to hold her up when her knees buckled. I could tell that she was more mad than in pain. We helped her into the house and to the kitchen where Sookie quickly heated a Royalty Blended for her, and then for the rest of us.

Fintan walked in unscathed, "Mr. Pettigrew is waiting for the law enforcement officials to arrive." Jason and a more dressed Thalia, along with the Britlingens joined us. I looked at everyone and said, "I'm going to check on the reinforcements and see if any of them are hurt."

I walked back outside through the front door, and several of my vampires were assembled waiting any further instructions. "Is everyone all right?" I asked.

Maxwell Lee stepped forward, "no one appears to have been hurt, sir. Those vampires were all babies. We were concerned about the approaching human officials. Should we wait here?"

I looked out at the little sea of baseball caps memorizing the faces beneath the bills, "first of all, I want to thank you all for coming when called. This act of loyalty will not be forgotten. I will be speaking to all of you individually in the coming days. Thank you again, and you may go now."

All but two of the assembled vampires sped off. Maxwell Lee remained as did Francois, who was wearing his New Orleans Saints cap backwards over his pony tail. I raised an eyebrow at that, and he shrugged and said in his heavy French accent, "it's how all the cool kids wear them." I laughed and Maxwell Lee joined me, pulling his own cap slightly to the side.

"Gangsta style," he said. It really didn't work with the John Deere cap he had found somewhere, which only made me laugh harder. Colonel Flood, the local packmaster joined us.

"Come with me," I told them as we walked to the front door. I went inside and brought Sookie to the door, and she invited them all in. All the fairies were now in their regular clothes, and Godric had brought Agent Langford and Adele up from downstairs. Sookie looked around at everybody and said, "We have two bathrooms with showers and tubs downstairs, one on this floor, and three upstairs. Does anybody want to wash up before we sit down and figure out what we're going to do next? We can provide clothes if you need it," she looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded. I looked around and all the vampires present were covered in the blood of their opponents. The two Britlingens were also fairly bloody. Not surprisingly, the fairies all looked clean. I didn't know if that was just a fairy thing or the difference with fighting from a distance. Fintan had a sword, and he had provided one for both Jason and Sookie. But I don't think they actually had to use them in this skirmish. Those lightballs were pretty damn effective and deadly.

All the vampires and Britlingens went to the various bathrooms and returned within ten minutes with fresh clothes (some provided for guests) and damp hair. While we were all bathing, additional leaves had been added to the table along with additional chairs. In addition, Sookie and Adele had prepared snacks and beverages for the non-vampires, and had multiple warm Royalty Blended waiting for each vampire. Introductions were made all around.

"You are the best, Madamoiselle Sookie," Francois said with a smile as he took a warm bottle from her.

She chuckled, "I think I missed my calling; I should have been a waitress."

Godric smiled, "not to put down waitresses, but that would have been a great waste of intellect."

"Indeed," Fintan agreed. Sookie smiled at the praise. I was amazed that she had seemed to get over her remorse from killing the attacking vampires so quickly. I centered myself so that I could focus on what she was truly feeling, and … she seemed to be genuinely fine. Well, well, well… My soon-to-be-wife was fucking amazing; no ordinary human could have compartmentalized their guilt/grief/remorse so efficiently. Merely thinking of just _how_ amazing she was was making me hard. Well, that and the after-battle bloodlust. I looked around the table, and the glossy eyes of the other vampires gave evidence of their own post-fight conditions. We needed to get this meeting underway.

"Everyone, listen," I said. The vampires all turned to me, but the others were still murmuring. I tried again, a little louder, "Excuse me, can we get this portion of this evening going?" With that, everyone settled into a chair, and we were ready to go.

Homeland Security started, "We have law enforcement and forensic officers currently cleaning up the remains outside. Everyone has been instructed of the need for absolute secrecy about this. The worst thing that could happen would be for this to be plastered across the media." We were all nodding our heads.

"Maybe…" Sookie said deep in thought.

Fintan turned to her, "what do you mean, Sookie."

Sookie looked up as if she hadn't realized that she had said that out loud. She blushed, "well… if you all think it is best that this stay secret… " She shrugged.

I looked at her, "why, Sookie? What are you thinking?" She was so intelligent that I thought she may have considered something that we hadn't.

She looked over at the agents and cleared her throat, "first, Victor sent the water fae to kidnap Jason and me, and he never heard from them again." The two agents shifted in their seats and looked at me.

Fintan didn't care, "go on, Sookie."

She nodded, "and now he has sent a small army of vampires to attack us, and probably also kidnap me and Jason. If… if he never hears anything from them, _about_ them, won't that seem much more suspicious than hearing that we were attacked but able to fight them off?" She shrugged again, "it would to me." She looked around the table, "he might launch his revolution sooner than we are prepared for. As in right at sunset tomorrow."

Godric added, "that makes a lot of sense. Maybe we are being a little too clever. There should maybe be a story in the paper tomorrow about an attack on an unidentified Shreveport vampire, but he was, I don't know, entertaining, maybe, and able to overcome the attack. This would not necessarily be a front page story, since no one is being identified. However, it should say that all attackers were killed."

FBI said, "I'm with Godric and Sookie; that makes a lot of sense. I think I should call the night desk of the Shreveport newspaper and report the story. I can minimize it enough so that it won't be on the front page."

Jason chimed in, "it's just like in The Great Escape!" Everyone at the table just looked at him. "You know when Steve McQueen and that little jockey fella are explaining their plan to just tunnel under the blind spot of the fence all in one night, and the real escape planner figures that if they don't have any escape attempts at all it will make the Germans more suspicious…"

His comments were followed by dead silence; I even I thought that I heard crickets chirping. Surprisingly, it was Maxwell Lee who spoke first, "that's actually an apt analogy." Jason beamed.

I asked, "Colonel Flood, what were the casualties among your pack?"

He sat straight-backed in his chair and said, "the attacking vampires took out several of my Weres before that actual attack. Two were killed, and five were injured. The injured were taken to Dr. Ludwig. The dead have been sent to the mortuary, and their families will be compensated in accordance with our agreement." I nodded in acceptance of my financial responsibility to those families. Thank the gods I paid all those insurance premiums for just such occasions.

FBI cleared his throat, "shouldn't we report the murders of these… men?" Colonel Flood looked aghast.

Godric shook his head, "that's not the way these things work in the supernatural world. We have always policed ourselves. I know that the supe world is in for some changes in the future, but we aren't there yet. However, I will endeavor to the best of my ability to incorporate and assimilate both our worlds when I assume my position in the human law enforcement community." FBI was decidedly unhappy, but Homeland Security nodded in agreement. Who knew that Homeland Security would be the more reasonable one in matters of supernatural law? I surmised that if this had been a matter of straight-up murder, FBI would have been right, but this was part of a huge terrorist threat, making the Department of Homeland Security the dominant law enforcement agency, and rightly or wrongly they had more latitude where constitutional law was concerned.

Then there was a cell phone ring tone. Nobody moved until Adele said, "oh goodness, that's my phone." She reached into her pocket and pulled it out, "Hello?" There was silence while she listened, "uh huh… uh huh… " Several of us looked at each other, "uh huh… Hold on." She took the phone down from her ear, "Fintan, honey, it's really for you…"

Fintan smiled and kissed Adele on her forehead and took the phone from her, "Yes?" He stood and walked out of the room.

Jason asked, "who was that, Gran?" Adele smiled and just shrugged. I had a feeling that she knew more than she was willing to share.

Homeland Security brought us all back on point, "where were we?"

Godric said, "Mr. Langford was going to share a generic vampire attack story with the local newspaper. And you two need to get the new information that Fintan was able to get to your respective departments and the rest of the government, yes? In addition, Interpol needs to get this vampire in Milan before he is able to do any damage in Europe." He paused for a moment, "I am going to call the Guardian to bring him up to speed so that he can do something about all of this from his base of operations."

Jason added, "maybe now the government can take down the rest of the bad army during the day tomorrow." He looked at Sookie and they nodded in unison. He continued, "surely the extra information that Granddaddy's provided will get you there."

Fintan walked back to the dining room door, "Sookie, Eric, could I have word with you?"

We both got up and followed him to the den in the back. There were three frightened children. Make that three frightened, extremely dirty fae children. They looked to be very, very young. "Sookie, these are Elara, Celana, and Tumay. I think they may be hungry."

Sookie went to them and knelt down, "are you hungry?" They nodded with wide, fearful eyes. "Well you just have a seat right here, and I'll go and get you something yummy to eat, OK?" Again, they nodded.

Fintan said to me while Sookie was talking to the children, "Tannis." I nodded my head. I was glad that we were able to keep our word to him. Sookie told us she would be right back, and left for the kitchen. Fintan continued, "I thought we could take them to him during the day tomorrow, and then perhaps we can help them settle somewhere."

"Do you have someplace in mind?" I asked.

Fintan nodded, "I have a cousin who lives in Ireland. I'm going to try to get him to take them in." I knew there were fairies in Ireland, so that seemed like a good idea.

Sookie returned from the kitchen with food and drinks for the children. She set everything down on the coffee table in front of them and helped them get settled on the sofa. They must have been starved because they tore into the food. I was curious, "how did they get here?"

Fintan smiled, "a cousin of mine brought them. But she was unable to hide her scent so she left. I've put a cover on theirs," he nodded in the direction of the children.

I smiled back at him, "you're really handy to have around… in so many ways." We both chuckled at that. "I'm going to return to the meeting in the dining room; it should be breaking up soon." Fintan nodded. He was apparently going to stay with the children.

I left Fintan and Sookie behind in the den and went back to the dining room. Since everyone was standing, I assumed the meeting was coming to a close. Homeland Security said, "The forensics teams are just finishing up outside. We have confiscated almost thirty cell phones from among the slain vampires; our cybertechs will surely figure out a way to use them. Meanwhile, we need to get this information into the right hands." FBI nodded.

They departed along with Francois and Maxwell Lee. I turned to Batanya, "do you think you could share a room with Clovache tonight? We may have need of another bedroom." Both Britlingens nodded. Who would have thought that a house with four bedrooms upstairs and four bedrooms downstairs would suddenly be so crowded. My house was starting to feel like a dormitory. Of course, I offered the final bedroom downstairs to Rasul and Pam. Adele looked at me in question, and I responded, "he's in the den in the back." She decided to join Fintan there.

Jason began yawning, "I'm going to hit the sack. Good night everyone." He got up, gave Thalia a pointed look and departed for his room upstairs. Not surprisingly, Thalia was the next to leave the dining room, and although I didn't track her moves, I was pretty sure she hadn't headed downstairs. Ah well …

Godric excused himself to call The Guardian, and he headed downstairs followed by Rasul and Pam. Adele and Fintan took the three children upstairs. Adele took the two little girls to one bathroom, and Fintan took the little boy to another. Sookie ran downstairs and returned with three t-shirts, and she ran upstairs. She soon returned with the children's dirty clothes, and she took them to the laundry room to wash. When the children were clean and dressed in the t-shirts that were over-sized on them, Batanya directed them to her bedroom. I made a call to the warehouse to give instructions on cleaning Tannis up. I didn't want the children to be frightened when they saw their father.

I walked upstairs and stood outside the door of the chidren's room and listened as Adele was telling them the story of a princess who couldn't sleep because of a tiny pea under her mattresses. I smiled at the irony of the only human in the house telling a fairytale to three little fairies. I quietly went back downstairs and found Sookie in the kitchen cleaning up. "Need some help?" I asked her.

"Nah, I'm nearly done," she said closing the dishwasher. "I would have never imagined that this house, with its eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, could possibly feel crowded," she laughed standing at the sink. "At least we have plenty of toilet paper." I couldn't help the snort that escaped me. She chuckled and excused herself to put the little fairies' clothes into the dryer then she returned to face the sink.

I walked up to her and hugged her from behind, "how are you doing?" I asked as I rested my chin on her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm fine," she answered.

"You seemed pretty upset earlier tonight. Are you sure you're OK?" I searched through her feelings when she just nodded. There was guilt there, but the prevailing emotion I was getting was relief.

She turned in my arms to face me, "yeah, well, I had a weak moment. My head knows that all I did was self-defense, but my… stomach knows that I killed, and my heart aches for those lost lives. I've just got to get the various parts on my body all on the same page." I chuckled and held her tightly to my chest. "I'm actually more upset about Victor almost killing you tonight." That explained the feeling of relief.

"Yes, that was rather close. If your grandfather hadn't been there, then I probably wouldn't be here. I owe him a huge debt," I admitted.

She hugged me more tightly, "I'm just grateful he was there, and that you _are_ here."

"Just how grateful are you?" I teased squeezing her luscious ass.

"You are such a perv sometimes," she laughed merrily.

I said in all seriousness, "yes, but I'm _your_ perv." She giggled as I picked her up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I ran my fingers deeply into her hair, and I finally kissed her. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, I was just closing our bedroom door downstairs.

"Wow, I didn't even feel you moving," she said. "That was some kiss."

I smiled, "it must have been. I've been wanting to kiss you so much all night."

"You have?" she asked as she kissed down the side of my neck. "How much?"

"I hope that you aren't terribly fond of these clothes," I said as I ripped them off of her.

"Aw man… You know all that extra strength I've been getting?" she asked and I nodded. She tore my t-shirt all the way down the center. I smiled at her, and soon had us both naked without ever letting go of holding her with legs around my waist. That presented us with the perfect opportunity to connect as she put her hands on my shoulders, then raised and lowered herself onto me. She let out a long sigh when I was finally totally inside her, "I've been wanting, no _needing_ to do this ever since the attack was over."

I smiled as I kissed up from her neck to her ear, and I whispered, "it seems as if added strength isn't the only thing you have gotten from me. What you've been feeling, my Sookie, is bloodlust. Vampires always feel it after a battle."

"Uh huh," she rather inelegantly responded. Her focus was obviously on what she was doing rather than what I was saying. She again placed her hands on my shoulders and lifted herself up and down on me. I put my hands on her bottom and helped her. We were standing right in the middle of the room fucking on only our own power. Rather, I was standing… Sookie was using her new-found strength to make all the moves, and for once I was just along for her ride. It was glorious. She was flexing her legs crossed just over my ass to facilitate her movement, and she was kissing up and down my neck, first on one side and then the other. She was licking the cleft in my chin, and surprisingly, I felt my knees go somewhat weak. Damn! My eyes rolled back, and I walked us over to the nearest bare wall and placed a hand against it. I put her back against it, and took over the thrusting efforts, pushing in harder and harder. Her head fell back against the wall, which only made me want to fuck her harder. I continued moving in and out of her, and brought my thumb up to circle and rub that little magical spot between her legs. Soon, she was screaming out my name, and I was emptying myself inside her. That yellow/white light shot out from our joining, brighter than it had ever been. It looked like it ran through the doors and walls. I wondered, when I was able to form thoughts again, if the others in the house were able to see it.

When her breathing had somewhat returned to normal, Sookie slid down my body to put her feet on the floor. She took my hand and led me to our bed. "I think you need to get at least a little sleep. You have a really big day tomorrow."

I smiled at her and nodded. I chuckled when I thought to myself about what my schedule would look like on a daily agenda: 10:00 a.m. – reunite former enemy fae father with his estranged small children - check; noon – kill evil megalomaniacal terrorist vampire with delusions of world domination – check.

Sookie and I settled into our bed, and I spooned up behind her. I put my arm around her body, and she wiggled her behind closer into me. Well, that was an invitation if ever I'd had one… I reached down and entered her from behind. "Mmmmmmm…" was her response. This time our lovemaking was slow and tender as I slowly went in deeply and pulled almost all the way out before pushing right back in. "Mmmmm…" she repeated. I placed the flat of my palm against her lower abdomen, and I would swear I could feel myself inside her with it. I started to make slow circles with my hand. Again she made what was quickly becoming my favorite sound on earth, "Mmmmmm…" I began to also nibble on her shoulder until I reached her neck, and I slowly slid my fangs in matching the rhythm of our lower activities. Sookie's sound changed to "Ooooohhhh…" My eyes rolled back in my head once again at the sensory overload that the taste of her sweet blood added. I took only a few pulls of her blood before I was healing the bite mark. Shortly afterward, we both came with a long extended release.

I brought the arm around her up her body, and she hugged it to her chest with both of her hands, "I love you so much, Eric. I never imagined that loving anybody would feel like this."

"My love, I don't have the words for how much I love you. You are the most important thing in the world to me. There's nothing I wouldn't do to make sure you are safe," I responded.

"I know that you will be OK tomorrow… because what we have is too special…" she added.

I smiled, "Agreed. Sleep now, my love." I kissed her neck. I closed my eyes.

As I was slowly walking down the dark hallway, I looked at Fintan by my side. He nodded and indicated by gesture that we should turn to the right at the next junction point. Even though all the vampires were dead for the day, we were being quiet in case of Were or, less likely, human guards. We rounded the corner toward Victor's day chamber. We were so close… Soon Victor would be no more, and hopefully life could return to normal, whatever that was. More importantly, hopefully this huge threat would be terminated. Fintan indicated, again by gesture, that we take a left at the next junction. I knew from preparing for this in advance that this was the last turn before Victor's chamber. I was steeling myself for what lay ahead, when out of nowhere a Were jumped out of the shadows and with one swipe of a sword, beheaded Fintan. My horror at that slowed my reflexes and …

I sat up with a huge gasp. I looked around and realized that I had had another dream… nightmare. And if Fintan was right, it was prophetic. I put my hands over my face and breathed deeply. I knew that I would have to remember this later today when we were working our way towards Victor's resting place. I looked at the clock on Sookie's side of the bed. It was only 4:32 in the morning. I had only been asleep, I still shook my head at the notion myself sleeping, for about an hour. I lay back on my pillow and stared at the ceiling. I knew that Godric would still be up, and I wondered if I should go and speak to him about this. However, I decided that the dream had shown me what I needed to know. I closed my eyes and prayed to Odin and Tyr, the gods of war, to guide my actions in the coming hours. The gods had favored me thus far, I just had to remain faithful to their worship, and I believed they would continue to guide me. I smiled as I realized that I had … faith, deep and abiding faith. My Sookie hadn't been lying when she told the press that. I would make sure that both Fintan and I returned alive and well from killing Victor. I was determined that Sookie and I would have our wedding on Friday, and it wouldn't be shrouded in grief and tragedy.

I turned my head and looked at Sookie peacefully sleeping by my side. Gods, how this woman had turned my world upside down! Not just my world. I doubted that Godric, Rasul, or Pamela would claim she hadn't also changed their worlds as well. She was a literal force of nature, and she didn't even know it. Soon I fell into a deep, thankfully, dreamless sleep.

A while later I heard a very disturbing noise. I could feel my forehead crinkling uncomfortably at the disturbance. I must have moaned because Sookie was asking me if I was OK. I opened my eyes and she was propped up on one elbow looking down at me. "Are you OK?" she asked again.

I nodded and asked, "what was that horrible sound?"

She chuckled, "that was the alarm clock, Silly. Was it really so bad?"

"It was downright painful," I responded. At that admission she was all-out laughing.

"Obviously, you've never needed an alarm clock."

"Obviously," I retorted. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight o'clock. What time did you want to take the children to their father?" she asked.

"I didn't really have a time in mind. But I was thinking around ten?" I stated and asked at the same time.

She nodded, "well, the sun's up. It's breakfast time, and I want to make sure the kids have enough to eat. You wanna come upstairs with me?"

I thought about it, and found that I actually did want to go upstairs with her, "yes, thank you."

"All right. Let's get up and get ready," she said as she started to get out of bed.

I grabbed her hand, "how much more hungry will they be if they have to wait another twenty-thirty minutes?" I asked.

She smiled, "oh, I think they can wait. After all, if they are truly hungry, my Gran can feed them." Good answer, I thought. We took that opportunity to have morning sex, which I was pleased to discover was just as good as night time sex.

Afterward we showered together and took the opportunity to discover more about morning sex. Life was good! By the time we finally made it upstairs, the children were all seated around the kitchen bar finishing the breakfast that Adele had made for them. They still started at the sight of me, even in the daylight. I guessed that little fairies were taught about the dangers of vampires early in their lives. Soon Fintan appeared, and they visibly relaxed. Apparently they trusted the fairy enough to get over their fear of the vampire in their presence. Fintan took a moment to play with the little fairies, and make them feel more comfortable in their surroundings. They were all giggling at his antics. I could see for a moment, Sookie's grandfather. No wonder she thought of him the way that she did. He was great with children.

I crossed into the kitchen area, "are we ready to re-unite a father with his children?"

Fintan smiled, "just the first task of our day, eh?"

I smiled in return and nodded. "Let me know when you are ready to go."

He looked at the children, "have you all finished your breakfast?" They all nodded. "Would you like to see your father?" They all giggled and nodded even more. Fintan summoned me over. He picked up the second smallest child and handed her to me to hold. He then picked up the smallest child and held her. He then reached down and placed my free hand on his shoulder, grabbed the hand of the little boy, and the five of us teleported to the warehouse. We 'landed' in the main room of the warehouse. I put the child I was holding down on the ground.

"I'll be right back," I told all of them. I walked through the door that led to the other part of the warehouse. I saw that Tannis had been cleaned up and released from his chains. "I have a pleasant surprise for you," I told him. His head tilted to the side before he nodded. A Were guard opened his cell, and I gestured for him to follow me.

We walked together through the warehouse door to the space where Fintan was waiting with his children. All three children shrieked when they saw their father. They ran into his arms as he knelt down. He hugged and kissed each of them in turn. He was rocking with the three of them in his arms, and he looked up at me with tears streaming from his eyes, "thank you, thank you. I had no right to expect this. I have been so, so wrong… about so many things."

I just smiled at him. I understood the learning curve he was working through. "As promised, here are your children. Fintan has a place to take you, so that the four of you can start building a new life. Please remember that it was hybrid fairies who helped you re-unite with your children and start over."

He nodded vigorously, and said, "of course, I will never forget your multiple acts of kindness." I nodded to Fintan, who I knew was going to transport Tannis and his children to Ireland. Just as everyone was joining hands, Tannis turned to me, "and I hope you can find happiness with your bride." I smiled at him as they disappeared from sight.

Fintan would be back in a few minutes, and we would then head out to eliminate Victor Madden from this plane of existence.

 **AN:** Thanks so, so much for all of your reviews since the last posting, as of 12/3/17: ljhjelm49, princessspot5, Casey8686, VampMad50, Nicolle1977, Duckbutt, fanfictionfan4444, dragonfey57, Jadajuice, Asami's clown, tleel, MsNorthman, ericlover69, ciasteczko, Perfecta999, hummingbirdgrrl, 2 Guests, Suzymeinen, jackie69, bttrflybelle, pnwer, pattyfullwood


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52 – Top of the Stretch

 **AN:** Before you read this chapter, you should go to youtube and listen to Frank Sinatra – or preferably Mel Torme from his "Swings Shubert Alley" album – sing "Old Devil Moon". You'll be glad you did.

 _Last time:_

 _I nodded to Fintan, who I knew was going to transport Tannis and his children to Ireland. Just as everyone was joining hands, Tannis turned to me, "and I hope you can find happiness with your bride." I smiled at him as they disappeared from sight._

 _Fintan would be back in a few minutes, and we would then head out to eliminate Victor Madden from this plane of existence_.

Now:

I turned to the Weres who were at the warehouse and said, "well, now that our one and only prisoner is gone… I suppose you guys have the rest of the day off." They smiled, nodded, and headed to the exits.

I looked around the warehouse. I'd always thought that with superior vampire eyesight that we saw just as well at night as humans did during the day. Looking around this old warehouse in the light of day was making me re-think that supposition. Everything was brighter, even the rust. I shook my head at my own sentimentality. However, the reality was that things looked entirely different in the light of day. The entire color spectrum was different. I hadn't realized what I had missed all these centuries even though I had vampire enhanced vision.

I realized I was alone in the warehouse. It felt strange to be totally alone and awake in the daytime. I wandered to the middle of the large room, wondering how long it would take Fintan to talk his cousin in Ireland into taking in the displaced water fae family. Standing in the middle of the warehouse made me look up and around. I said, "to be or not to be," and let my voice reverberate around the room. The acoustics were amazing. There was something that made me think of my Sookie and made me want to sing and dance.

I look at you and suddenly  
Something in your eyes I see  
Soon begins bewitching me  
It's that old devil moon  
That you stole from the skies  
It's that old devil moon in your eyes

I danced from side to side of the available space to music I was hearing in my head… I was having such a good time that I even imagined a jaunty fedora on my head…

You and your glance make this romance  
Too hot to handle  
Stars in the night  
Blazing their light  
Can't hold a candle  
To your razzle-dazzle

Damn, but my voice sounded good in this warehouse… I needed to bring Sookie here and sing for her…

You've got me flyin' high and wide  
On a magic carpet ride  
Full of butterflies inside.  
Wanna cry, wanna croon  
Wanna laugh like a loon  
It's that old devil moon in your eyes

I would've continued but I heard the sound of one pair of hands clapping. I looked up and Fintan was smiling down at me from one of the catwalks with his forearms resting on the rails. I was so busted; thank the gods that I hadn't yet started to blush along with my daywalking. That would be mortifying. Ah well, I just gave him a deep bow. He popped down to beside me chuckling, "that was quite the song and dance."

"I thought I was alone," I admitted. "When I realized how great the acoustics were in here, I couldn't help myself," I shrugged. He continued looking at me, and I knew he was reading my thoughts because he smiled. I confessed, "plus, I'm pretty excited about ending Victor."

"Seriously, Eric, you have a great voice. Have you ever sung for Sookie?" he asked.

I shook my head, "maybe someday."

Smiling Fintan said, "just don't let her sing for you. She's beautiful, smart, and talented, but she is the worst singer I've _ever_ heard. Don't tell her I said that." He laughed a little more, "when she was in elementary school, she wanted to sing in her church's children's choir. That really pleased Adele who is very religious. She'd only been in the choir for a few weeks when the young woman who was the choir director came to visit us at home, and asked us for a nice way to basically kick her out of the choir. At first we were horribly offended. She apologized profusely, but added that Sookie was completely tone deaf and sang as loudly as she could all the time. She pointed out that even the other children were wincing and cringing when Sookie sang. The poor woman was practically in tears when she was talking to us. I told her that I would accompany Sookie to the choir practice and listen." He shook his head and chuckled, "Eric, I cannot describe to you the magnitude of badness that was eight-year-old Sookie singing her little heart out. I love her dearly, but I had to agree with the choir director; she was beyond bad. That was when I decided to get her interested in archery. She really wanted to learn, but I told her that she didn't have time for both the choir and archery lessons, and she had to choose. Thankfully, she chose the bow and arrow."

We were chuckling together when I sobered and said, "Fintan, I had another dream…" He nodded and gestured for me to continue. I told him in as much detail as I could exactly what happened in my dream. His eyebrows rose into his hairline when I described his own beheading. "I was thinking that maybe you should just teleport me to the site and then get away as fast as possible."

He seemed to think that over, "what security do you have at the house right now? In case Victor launches a day-time assault?"

"I have double the Were guards that I had last night in anticipation of just such a move by Victor," I answered.

"Very good, I suggest we return there before we head off to take care of Victor," he said as he grabbed my arm, and then we were back in the foyer of my house. "Call the Britlingens," he requested.

When Clovache and Batanya had joined us in the kitchen, Fintan turned to them, "Clovache, I request that you accompany Eric and me to execute Victor Madden today. We want to go in there invisibly." Clovache nodded. Fintan turned to Batanya, "Batanya, you will be the only guard inside the house when we leave since all of the vampires are down for the day. However, Eric has doubled the size of the Were compliment outside the house. Are you up for this?" She raised a single eyebrow and nodded.

"Batanya, if there should be an attack on the house, take Adele, Sookie, and Jason downstairs and lock yourselves in. The downstairs chamber is fire proof and impregnable. You should all be safe there until we return. You may even want to take some food down there now, in case the worst happens, OK? There's a small refrigerator and a microwave down there." I told her. She nodded and headed into the kitchen, ostensibly to gather food and beverages to place downstairs.

After that was settled, Fintan stood in the center, linked his left arm into my right, and his right arm into Clovache's left. I felt a small electrical charge as we went invisible, and then the nauseating sense of teleportation. I was somewhat surprised to find that although I knew we were invisible, I could still see Fintan and Clovache in our little bubble of invisibility.

We found ourselves in the same hall where my dream began, but Clovache hadn't been there in my dream. We walked together, silently, arm-in-arm, until we came to the junction where we took a right. I could see the junction to the left up ahead, and I started looking to the right in the shadows for the Were who had beheaded Fintan in my dream. I could just barely see him, but only because I knew he was hiding up ahead. As we got closer to the place where Fintan was killed in my dream, I swear, if my heart could still beat, it would be pounding. Fintan looked at me to let me know he had seen him as well. When we were fewer than fifteen feet from the murderous Were, he stepped out of the shadows and froze, and so did we. He turned his head from side to side looking down the hallway in both directions. Then I noticed that he was sniffing, pausing to listen one direction, and repeating those actions in the other direction. He must have sensed in some way that there was trouble afoot. He turned and walked about three steps to his right – away from us – and then he stopped and sniffed/listened again.

And then, to my – our – horror, he turned the opposite direction and started walking toward us. He came further in our direction than he had in the other direction. I knew that we were invisible, but we were still solid mass. If he got to us, he would know. He kept taking slower and slower steps in our direction, and only stopped when he was less than three feet from us. Again, he sniffed and listened. We were completely still. I didn't need to breathe, but I was pretty sure that my two companions did, and yet we remained completely silent. I was looking into his eyes, and they were intelligent eyes that revealed thinking and calculating. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably less than a minute in all, he turned to return to his hiding place. He had gotten almost there when he turned suddenly with his sword drawn and sliced a side-to-side stroke followed by a downward stroke at the empty air. Finally, he snorted, rolled his eyes, and whispered, "I must be losing it." He then retreated back into his shadowed hiding place.

We walked silently past the danger zone, giving Fintan's would-be assassin a wide berth, and turned left. Far away from the hiding guard, we got to the door of Victor's private chamber and found it locked. Of course, it would be locked. Fintan placed his right hand over the lock without ever losing contact with Clovache, and through some sort of fairy magic, the door lock clicked open. We all three froze, checked if that Were had heard, and strode in and locked the door behind us. We had already made it further together than in my dream, and both Fintan and I let out a louder than necessary sigh of relief. I prayed to the gods that our luck held.

We spread out around the chamber, and immediately upon losing contact with each other, our invisibility disappeared. I chuckled at the irony of invisibility disappearing… anyway… In the middle of the chamber – a chamber such as one you might find in a crypt in a cemetery – Victor was in his day rest upon a stone-slab bier. I snorted at how Victor was living the stereotype. Seriously, who would go to rest on a stone-slab rather than a nice, comfortable bed? I looked down and was rather disappointed that he didn't have his hands crossed over each other upon his chest.

I extended my hand like a surgeon asking for a scalpel, "Clovache, stake." She slapped one in my hand like an efficient operating room nurse. I ran the tip of the stake from left to right across Victor's forehead, and then down the top of his nose, and I put my hand on his forehead. "Hello, hello, hello, Victor. Wakie, Wakie…" I could hear Fintan chuckling to the side. No response. I looked up at my two companions and they both shrugged. I would have to get a little more aggressive. I stood back, and then I slapped first his right cheek and then his left. Hard. Slowly his eyes opened. I knew exactly when they came into focus because they widened in horror.

"Howdy, Victor," I smiled. His eyes held me in shock for a moment, and I couldn't resist, I waggled my eyebrows. Fintan and Clovache both chuckled at my antics. Since he was awake long before his daytime active ability, I knew that moving would be difficult for him. Even so, Fintan manifested two long, heavy silver chains and placed one over his arms and chest, and the other over his hands and hips. He wasn't going anywhere.

"You know, Victor, when President Kennedy was assassinated, history noted that it was on Friday, November 22, 1963. The same with President Lincoln – history recorded the day, date and time. You know what history will record about your death? Hmmm, do you?" I asked.

Victor just looked at me without saying a word. "That's right, Victor, very good. They'll be saying absolutely nothing about your death, because you are a big fat nobody." I could't help myself, I just cracked up. "You thought you would end me last night, didn't you? If you had, there would have been a big write-up in Time Magazine. That's way, way more than you are going to get."

Fintan interjected, "Eric…"

I nodded, "you're right, Fintan. I guess I'm just having a little too much fun." Victor looked at Fintan in recognition of his name, and I could tell he was working out just how screwed he was. I continued, "you are nothing Victor. No one will mark the occasion of your death. No one. Fintan, who do you think will commemorate Victor's death?"

Fintan chimed in right on cue, "why, no one Eric."

If he weren't the grandfather of my fiancé, I would think that Fintan was my new best friend, "and why would that be, Fintan?"

Fintan didn't disappoint, "because no one knows who the fuck he is, Eric."

"Why, I think you are right, Fintan. That's just so fucking sad. Don't you think it's sad, Clovache?" I asked.

She deadpanned, "I'm weeping on the inside."

I looked at her, pulling my lips into a tight line to keep from laughing. Who knew that a Britlingen had wit? "Before I give you the true death, Victor, I just have one question for you; what happens to your little revolution if you're gone?"

Victor finally spoke, "Wouldn't you like to know…?"

And there was that same fucking answer. Again. I looked back at Fintan who, though smiling, was giving me a 'hurry up' look. I nodded, "well, here we are at the end of things, Victor, at least you are, and those were your last words... 'Go thou, and fill another room in hell. That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire, that staggers thus my person.' A little Shakespeare to send you on your way." And with that, before Victor could utter another word, I plunged the stake into his heart, and he was no more. I stood back from his bier and just looked at the sludge that was the would-be king of America. So much for that. Finally, Fintan grabbed my arm and Clovache's, and we were back in the foyer of my house.

We all just looked at each other and as one, we all let out a deep breath. Fintan smiled and said, "well, Eric, it turns out that your dreams are more warnings than actual prophecies. I, for one, am glad."

I chuckled, "yes, I'll just bet you are…" We laughed together at that. I looked around and wondered where everyone was. "Sookie?" I called out.

Fintan closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, "they are downstairs below us." I went to the opening for the basement, entered the code, and the three of us descended. We went to my living quarters, and found all four of them on the sofa and easy chair watching television. Fintan spoke first, "hello…"

All four head turned in perfect synchronization toward us. Sookie jumped up, "you're back!" She ran into my arms, and I hugged her. She looked up into my face and asked, "Victor?"

"He is no more," I answered. "Why are all of you down here?"

"Batanya told us to be prepared to come down here in the event of an attack, and we just decided to be pro-active. Uhmm…" Sookie hesitated.

"What, Sookie," Fintan asked.

"What happens to this terrorist dealio if Victor is dead? Which he is…" she asked.

I smiled, "I had the same thought, so I asked him that very question, which he refused to answer," I looked at Fintan.

"Since his ego knew no bounds, he genuinely believed that without him, the whole thing would just die, or at the very least, fall apart," he replied. "Now, whether or not he was right about that remains to be seen. We should probably contact the government agents about this latest development, even though we told them about it in advance last night."

I nodded and pulled out my phone. "Hello, Agent Pettigrew. I've learned that Victor Madden is no more, and that he believed that if he were killed that his revolution would die with him. On the chance that is not true, I thought I would let you know so that human law enforcement could prepare accordingly."

He replied, "and just how do you know that Mr. Madden is dead?"

I knew that I said last night that I would take care of Victor, but I didn't want to confess to killing him on the phone with an agent of the U.S. government. That could cause all kinds of problems for me, so I continued to play coy, "a little bird told me." Cliché, I know, but that was as far as I was willing to go in the admission game. "Also a source told me," I continued, "that Victor believed, that if he died, the revolution would end. However, that same source could not verify the validity of Victor's beliefs."

Homeland Security was silent for just a moment, then said, "got it. I will notify the necessary parties."

"Thank you, Agent Pettigrew. I would appreciate it if you could keep me posted on the salient facts," I told him. I knew he'd know what that meant.

"Certainly, Mr. Northman. Thank you and be safe," Homeland Security said before hanging up.

Once I'd hung up, I walked over to everyone and invited them upstairs. There was no use hiding in the basement in the daytime since Fintan, the Britlingens, and I were there to guard. Jason especially seemed please to get upstairs. He asked, "you think we'll be able to go back to work tomorrow?" He looked at me with such hopeful eyes.

"Let's wait and see how things shake out tonight, OK?" I answered, and he became the very definition of crestfallen. "However, if things go well, then yes, you should be able to go to work."

Jason smiled, "that's what I'm talkin' about!" He twirled, literally twirled, toward the sofa in the den to watch television. He plopped down and put his feet up on the coffee table. It was so easy to make him happy. And who knew that Thalia would find him so appealing? That was a real head-scratcher, as Jason would say.

Adele was standing at the closet to the den, "Sookie, why do you have so many games?"

"What are you talking about, Gran?" Sookie asked.

Adele pointed, "right here in this closet; there are a lot of games. Monopoly, Clue, Battleship, Sorry, Chinese Checkers… and those are just the ones I can see."

Sookie smiled, "uhmmm… Eric and I like to play those games." She cut her eyes to me.

Adele suggested, "well, since we are all stuck here for the day, maybe we should play one of them."

"I don't know, Gran," Sookie mumbled.

"Let me tell you about the house rules, Adele," I cheerfully added.

"Eric, don't you dare," Sookie practically snapped at me. I threw my head back and laughed.

Adele looked from Sookie to me and back again, "I'm guessing it's something I wouldn't appreciate." She looked sternly at us, then a smile broke across her face, "shame on you… both of you."

Sookie took the bull by the horns, so to speak, "Jason, Eric has quite a DVD collection over here. Why don't you pick something out, and we'll all watch it."

Jason jumped up and ran to the DVD bookcase and started perusing the titles, "no, no, hmm that's a good one, no, no, maybe, no, no, ah, I love that one, no, no, no, possibly…" I looked over and saw Sookie rolling her eyes, and it made me chuckle. Jason continued, "no, no, oh man, I haven't seen this one in forever…" He pulled out a DVD and walked over and put it into the player.

Adele and Sookie sat next to him on the sofa, while Fintan and I lingered a little distance away. I had to admit that I was curious about what selection he had made. The DVD preliminaries aired, and then Jason, in charge of the remote control, pressed 'menu'. It was only then that I could tell what he had picked from the well-over one thousand DVD's I had.

Sookie groaned, "really, Jason. _Wayne's World_? Did you even give a thought to the rest of us?"

Jason turned an incredulous expression to her, "why don't you ask your fiancé. It's his DVD after all, and this movie came out way, way before DVD players even existed." At that declaration, Sookie slowly turned her face to me and raised her eyebrows.

I shrugged, "I find it funny, what can I say?" I was fully aware that the movie was totally adolescent and tasteless, but I truly found it amusing. Maybe it was, as they say, a _guy_ thing.

Fintan snorted and moved to sit next to Adele who was in the center of the sofa with Jason on the other side of her. Both Britlingens had claimed the armchairs. Sookie ran into my arms as I leaned against the arch into the den. She hugged me from my side, and I absolutely had to put my arms around every inch of her. A few minutes after the movie got going I pulled Sookie's hand to follow me. I was trying to think of the least likely place that anyone would look for us other than going downstairs. Ultimately, I pulled her into the laundry room off of the kitchen.

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, backing her up to the washing machine. I was reaching for the hem of her shirt when her hands stopped me, "Eric, we can't, my family is just out in the den."

I waggled my eyebrows at her and reached around and started the washing machine, then bent over and also started the dryer, "now they won't be able to hear us."

She shook her head, "yes, but you do realize that my grandfather will still be able to hear our thoughts, don't you?"

I also shook my head, "you do realize, my Sookie, that he hears them even when we're down in our room… don't you?"

She gasped, "oh my God!"

I took her hands in mine, "don't even think about stopping having sex just because he's in the house. Anyway, the genie is already out of that bottle." She looked uncertain, and her feelings matched the expression on her face. "Sookie, today I killed possibly the world's biggest terrorist. I want a little celebration with my beloved." I finished that sentence with a nibble on her earlobe which elicited the gasp I was hoping for. I whispered in her ear,

"I look at you and suddenly  
Something in your eyes I see  
Soon begins bewitching me  
It's that old devil moon  
That you stole from the skies  
It's that old devil moon in your eyes"

Sookie just looked back at me with a silly smile. I took her into my arms, and we danced/swayed very closely in the confines of the laundry room. I continued,

"You and your glance make this romance  
Too hot to handle  
Stars in the night  
Blazing their light  
Can't hold a candle  
To your razzle-dazzle"

I started undressing her, and then myself, and kept on singing softly,

"You've got me flyin' high and wide  
On a magic carpet ride  
Full of butterflies inside.  
Wanna cry, wanna croon  
Wanna laugh like a loon  
It's that old devil moon in your eyes"

We were finally naked, and I sat her on top of the washing machine and started little kisses down her body in between words,

"Just when I think, I'm

Free as a dove.

Old devil moon,

Deep in your eyes,

Blinds me with love."

And I landed at the promised land, right between her legs, and swooped in, kissing, licking, and more. Sookie's groans were delicious to me, and it wasn't long before she had a release. I kissed my way back up her body, lingering at her beautiful breasts, and then up to her mouth for a long, long kiss. I made my way back to her ear and whispered, "I want you, Sookie."

"Then take me," she panted out. I pulled her to the edge of the washing machine and entered her all the way. She let out a little cry.

"Careful, my love, you didn't want your family to hear," I teased.

"For some reason, maybe it's the singing or the movement of the washing machine or both, but I feel on fire for you," she responded breathily.

Excellent. I started moving slowly in and out in rhythm with the inner rotations of the machine. I could feel the vibrations through Sookie's body, and it was quite the turn-on for me as well. I kept the pace slow and steady for a long time until the machine must have hit the spin cycle, and then I sped up to keep pace. After just a few moments of quick thrusting, Sookie had another release that had her practically screaming. I continued quick thrusts all the way through it hoping to draw her orgasm out as long as I could. She was literally gasping for breath. I could feel she was quickly rolling toward yet another release, even though she was still peaking from the prior one, and I bit into her neck and thrust in hard, where I found my release, and Sookie gulped in a huge amount of air. The light once again blazed from our joining. We held that position as the spin cycle slowly wound down… what perfect timing. Just as the machine was making that final slow whine, we both breathed out very heavily. We both were winded and rested our foreheads against each other's shoulders.

I hadn't been winded in a thousand years until I met Sookie. She was so amazing and such a game changer. She had so much power over me, and I was totally OK with that.

Sookie turned her head and placed a quick peck on my neck, "I love you so much, Eric. It's impossible for me to conceive of a life without you." Without lifting my forehead from her shoulder, I nodded in agreement. She was silent for a moment, "do you think we will actually be able to get married on Friday?"

"Come hell or high water," I assured her finally lifting my head. The colloquialism made her giggle. "I think we may have to emerge from our little sanctuary here."

She chuckled jumping down off of the washer and grabbing her clothes. "Why did you bring me in here? Why not go down to our bedroom?" she asked.

I was sliding into my jeans, "couple reasons… first, if we'd gone down to our bedroom, your family would have known exactly what we were doing." She nodded and I continued, "second, decades ago I read an article or story or something about fucking on a washing machine, but I'd never actually tried it. The vibrations are supposed to enhance the experience." Her eyes got really wide, and she nodded again. "Good to know."

"You read about this decades ago, and it just popped into your head to try it right now? With my family in the house?" she asked with an incredulous lift of her forehead.

I shrugged and confessed, "basically, I was just really wanting you, and I thought it would take too long to go downstairs."

She laughed, "aaahhhh, now the truth comes out. By the way, I really liked that singing bit. Very sexy."

I kissed her and said, "I'm glad you liked it."

When we were finally dressed we went on into the kitchen, and Sookie got herself a snack and a drink. We then walked into the den, where Jason was sitting all alone with the Britlingens. "Where's Gran?" Sookie asked.

"She said she was going to lay down… but…" he stopped.

"But what?" I asked.

"Well, let's just say, I think that whatever the two of you were doing got to Granddaddy, and they're probably doing the same thing," he said with a smirk. "You know… shwing!"

I chuckled, but Sookie said, "oh for heaven's sake, Jason." But she was smiling when she said it.

The credits had started rolling for the movie, and my phone rang. I looked at it and saw that it was Godric. I answered, "Godric?"

"Eric, turn on the news," he responded.

"All right." I asked, "would either of you mind if we checked the news?" They both shook their heads, so I switched the television to CNN.

The report was already in progress, "to repeat, we have interrupted our regularly scheduled programming with this breaking news. The Department of Homeland Security has announced that they have managed to stop a massive, nationwide terrorist plot that even included trying to topple the government in Washington. As unbelievable and incredible as this sounds, apparently hundreds, if not, thousands of vampires have been detained all across the United States. The Covert Forces of America have been working to uncover and stop this plot for some time now, and they finally managed to take out the ring leader, as well as his strategically placed terrorist cells all across the country. We don't yet have all the details, but this entire plot can be traced back to the attempted kidnappings of Jason and Sookie Stackhouse. And just like with those thwarted kidnap attempts, the human authorities were aided, indeed led, by a large number of vampires who wanted to help preserve the peace in our country. We are told that there will be a more extensive briefing from law enforcement tonight at eight o'clock, seven central. Again, the Department of Homeland Security has announced the prevention of a massive terrorist attack on American soil."

I switched the sound off, and the three of us looked at each other. I was still holding the phone to my ear for Godric, "Godric, did you know they were going to be announcing this today?"

"No, but when I spoke to The Guardian early this morning, he hinted that just such an announcement would be forthcoming once Victor was dead and the last of the cells had been captured. It might be too early to relax all protections, but I certainly think this calls for a celebration."

I looked at Sookie and Jason, "Godric thinks this calls for a celebration."

Jason added, "bring it on! I'm ready to party."

Sookie asked, "does this mean it's all over?"

I looked at her, and she was so hopeful. I hugged her to me, "I hope so. I certainly hope so."

 **AN:** "Old Devil Moon" was written by Burton Lane and E. Y. Harburg; it's an old, old oldie, but also one of the sexiest songs ever written. My favorite version is from the movie "Finian's Rainbow" and is listed on youtube as "Petula Clark – Finian's Rainbow – Old Devil Moon" – hubba-hubba for a musical movie from 1969.

The Shakespeare quote is from _Richard II,_ Act V, Scene 5

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who reviewed since the last chapter was posted, as of 12/7/17: tleel, princessspot5, ciasteczko, Guest, Casey8686, ericlover69, Asami's clown, ljhjelm49, Jfozz, VampMad50, Duckbutt, hummingbirdgrrl, bttrflybelle, MsNorthman, elliebaby33, Medtran, jackie69, fanfictionfan4444, SweetPrincess4eva, Perfecta999


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53 – Crossing the Finish Line

 **AN:** Please don't assume any actual, real-life politician for any politican mentioned in this chapter.

 _Last time:_

 _I looked at Sookie and Jason, "Godric thinks this calls for a celebration."_

 _Jason added, "bring it on! I'm ready to party."_

 _Sookie asked, "does this mean it's all over?"_

 _I looked at her, and she was so hopeful. I hugged her to me, "I hope so. I certainly hope so."_

Now:

When I looked at her, I thought of all the happiness I wanted her to have in conjunction with our wedding. "Sookie, aren't there preliminary celebrations for a wedding… in the days before?"

Sookie tilted her head to the side thinking, "well, yes, there are a few. Sometimes there's a bridal shower, there are bachelor and bachelorette parties, and there's a rehearsal dinner. Sometimes there are others, or there are more than one of the ones I mentioned, but we are so close to the date, I had just assumed that we didn't have time for all that."

I knew what bachelor and bachelorette parties were; we'd had a few at Fangtasia. Those were usually held by brides and grooms who wanted to walk on the edge before getting married. I was able to surmise the activities and rationale for a rehearsal dinner. But there was one that I was unfamiliar with, "what is a bridal shower?"

Sookie chuckled, "well, there are two kinds, which is why I said that sometimes there was more than one. The most common type is where the bride's friends and family, mostly always women, get together and have a party where they bestow the bride with gifts for the home – china patterns, crystal stemware, silverware, pots and pans, decorative items, linens, and the like. Usually a bride will register with a department store for such things, and a lot of the gifts will come from that registry. There are also refreshments and some silly games; basically there's just a lot of laughing and giggling. The other kind of bridal shower is held less often, although more often than it used to be held. It's a lingerie party." I raised my eyebrow at that, imagining Sookie and her friends in lingerie doing gods knew what. She must have interpreted my feelings and my look.

"It's not what you are thinking, you perv. Close friends of the bride _gift_ her with all manner of pretty lingerie and … sexy paraphernalia, so to speak."

Now that still sounded interesting and gave me an idea. I'd have to remember to talk to Pam about it. We really had no need for the first kind of shower, as we already had everything for the house, but I wondered if Sookie would like to pick out her own china, along with other things. "Why aren't you having either of those?" I asked.

She smiled, "most people don't get married as fast as we are. It takes weeks, sometimes months, to do all that. First I'd have to register, which takes considerable time. Then someone would need to host the party, plan it, send invitations, and then prepare for and give it. Again, that takes weeks." She shrugged, "I knew when we set up this short time line for our wedding that I would be foregoing those showers."

I decided right then that I would make it up to Sookie for missing these traditions, "I'm sorry, my Sookie, I didn't know about these things. I'm sorry that you will be missing them."

She shook her head, "don't be sorry, Eric. Our lives have pretty much been in turmoil since the day we met. I'm just hoping that we can have our wedding on Friday." She paused for a moment, "after that, I'm hoping we can just settle into our lives in such a way that we are not constantly preparing for battle."

"I understand, Sookie, but is there any way you could have these… showers after the wedding? I don't want you to miss out on anything; this will be the only time you ever get married, after all," I said. "Wouldn't you like to pick out your own china pattern… and such?"

She smiled, "Eric, if I told you that I had found a china pattern, or crystal pattern, or silverware… whatever, that I liked, would we be able to afford to buy it?"

"Of course, my love, anything you want. You know this," I responded.

"Well, all right then. We'll just get it in the future, and my friends won't feel obligated to pay for it," she beamed. I couldn't help but be happy when she talked about us in the 'we' sense. _We_ would be able to afford it in the future. My brain reeled from the concept of our 'we'. I'd only even known that concept with Godric and Pam. However, those 'we's' felt different from mine and Sookie's. She was my forever, one-and-only 'we'. I would always love and care about Godric and Pam, but Sookie had become the beginning and ending of my existence, as far as I was concerned.

Jason had continued to watch television while Sookie and I were talking. He had probably listened to every word, but he decided to join the conversation, "Hey Sook, Eric, how are we going to celebrate tonight?"

I smiled and looked at him, "I don't know, Jason, what did you have in mind?"

He smirked, "well, I've never been to a vampire club. Do you think we could go to Fangtasia?"

Sookie chuckled, "why, exactly, do you want to go to Fangtasia, Jason?"

He shrugged, "like I said, I never been to a vampire bar before. I know that Eric owns this one, so I thought it might be fun."

Sookie looked at me, and I also shrugged. I said, "Jason, of course you are always welcome there. Why don't we plan to go after dark?"

Jason smiled, "we'll call it a combination Victor victory party and pre-wedding shindig!"

Sookie smiled, "I think that's a good idea. We can also talk all members of the wedding party through the ceremony, and it can also serve as our rehearsal."

I thought about the idea and added, "let's see what is on the news this evening, talk to the agents, and then we can decide if it is safe enough to go out, OK?"

Soon enough the sun set, and Godric, Rasul, Pam, and Thalia joined us on the main floor. We all gathered around the dining table for our evening meal: Royalty Blend for the vampires, and something that Adele and Sookie has spent a large portion of the afternoon making for everyone else. We chatted pleasantly throughout the meal, and we all retired to the den to watch the news on television.

By the time the evening had come, much more of the story had been given to the press. Regular programming was pre-empted for this breaking news about the almost vampire revolution and its leader who was not named. That would've made Victor so mad. Nothing was said about the true leader in Europe, and I had to guess that he hadn't been dealt with yet. We all watched silently as more and more details of the structure of the revolution – vampire cells, plans to take down power and the internet, etc. were revealed in the broadcast. I was impressed with the thoroughness of the report's details. The head of the Department of Homeland Security made a statement from behind an official podium, and standing behind him were the Vice-president of the United States, the head of the FBI, and Roman Zimojic representing the vampire Authority.

Most of all, the gentleman making the speech called for 'cooler heads to prevail' so that there were no attacks against vampires by angered humans. He concluded by telling them that the covert agencies of the US government might have never learned of this terrorist plot without the help of vampires. He was pleased to announce that the assassination of Louisiana Vampire Liaison Officer Rasul al Basir had been a part of the overall plot, but had failed and that Mr. al Basir had merely gone into hiding to try to help find a way to help bring down the terrorists threat. I looked over at Rasul and smiled. He visibly let out a sigh of relief.

The speaker concluded, "Finally, the Department of Homeland Security wants to recognize the vampire who brought this plot to our attention in the first place. Mr. Eric Northman of Shreveport, Louisiana first came to the agents from both Homeland Security and the FBI who were locally investigating the kidnap attempts of Jason and Sookie Stackhouse. Without Mr. Northman's timely intervention, this entire terrorist plot might have turned out quite tragically differently. Due to his actions, often at great personal risk to himself, along with the actions of Godric, the new vampire law enforcement liaison officer, many, many lives were saved, both human and vampire. The United States of America owes a huge debt and gratitude to both Mr. Northman and Godric." He paused, and we all looked at each other with wide incredulous eyes. The speaker continued, "which brings me to an introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, vampires in America are organized under the direction of Roman Zimojic, and he has a few words to add, Mr. Zimojic…"

Roman stepped forward to the podium, and the Director of Homeland Security stepped back. The Guardian began, "ladies and gentlemen, I speak to you today as the leader of all American vampires. First and foremost, I want to assure you that the overwhelming majority of vampires in this country were not involved in this terrorist plot, even as massive as it was. The leader of this plot has been dealt with and no longer poses a threat. All vampires involved under him are in the custody of American law enforcement. The remaining vampires in this country want nothing more than to be peacefully a part of our great American society. Even though this terrorist threat originated with vampires, it was also ended due to vampires. I have spoken with the President of the United States. He understands that even as massive as this subversive action was on a national scale, that it was the actions of a single vampire who brought it down. For that reason, the President will present this country's highest award, the United States National Medal of Freedom, to Mr. Eric Northman in a ceremony in the next week, the first vampire ever to receive such an honor. The vampires of America are proud to have such a brave hero among us. Congratulations to Mr. Northman, Godric, and the American law enforcement community. May we all live together in peace."

Jason whistled, "wow, dude, that is so awesome!"

Sookie looked at me, "do you realize what a big honor this is, Eric? Like he said, it's the highest honor our country bestows on a citizen." She hugged me, "I'm so proud of you…"

Wow indeed. I had no words. I closed my eyes and took stock of how I felt, trying to find the 'hero' in me, but somehow I just felt the same as always. I looked around the den, and all eyes were on me. I smiled and shrugged at them. Pam came over to me and hugged me alongside Sookie. My two beautiful girls. After a moment, I just started to chuckle, "do you think I should tell them that I was just trying to make sure that my fiancé was safe?"

Rasul said, "that may be how it started, but you have done something very brave and … patriotic, Eric. I am proud of you."

Godric smiled, "as am I, min son."

I looked around the room, and everyone was smiling up at me, including Thalia and the Britlingens. I didn't know what to say, "I guess this is a pretty big deal…" and all the heads in the room nodded.

Just at that moment, my phone rang, "Northman," I answered.

"Mr. Northman, this is the president," the other end of the line responded.

My eyebrows shot upward, and I looked around the room. Everyone who was not a vampire was waiting to see who it was. The vampires already knew. "Hello, Mr. President. How are you tonight?" I asked. Sookie's eyes nearly popped.

He chuckled, "I'm just fine, thank you for asking. Have you been watching the news breaking on television?"

"I have. I was a little surprised by some of the announcements, to be honest," I confessed.

He chuckled again, "yes, I imagine that you were." He paused, "Mr. Northman, I owe you a great debt, the American people owe you a great debt, and America owes you a great debt. I called to personally thank you for all that you have done to preserve our way of life."

I didn't know what to say, "thank you, Mr. President, and … you're welcome… I guess." Most of the people in the room were starting to giggle a little, and the president was out-right laughing.

The president continued, "I would like to fly you and your … family to Washington this Friday for the Medal of Freedom ceremony."

Uh oh, I thought. I looked right at Sookie and knew what my answer had to be, "Mr. President, I need to let you know that I am getting married this Friday night. It has been planned for a while, the invitations are all out, and I'm much more afraid of my fiancé than I am of you." Sookie reacted by laughing and pounding her fist into her palm.

The president cackled, "would your fiancé be the lovely Miss Stackhouse?"

I smiled, "yes, Mr. President."

"I see. Do you have a honeymoon planned right after the wedding?" he asked.

"No, Mr. President. Sookie has her Master's orals in about three or four weeks, so we were going to go on our honeymoon after that," I said.

"Excellent. We'll fly you and your bride to Washington Sunday, and we'll hold the ceremony on Monday. Will that work?"

"Can you hold on just a moment?" I asked and he said he could. I put my hand over the phone, "Sookie, the president wants to fly us to Washington on Sunday for the medal ceremony on Monday. Is that OK?"

She laughed, "of course, you big Viking. That will be so great!"

I put the phone back to the ear, "Mr. President, Sookie says it's OK." Sookie swatted my arm, and I chuckled.

The president was laughing, too, "well, we wouldn't want to run on the wrong side of your bride. My office will call with the travel details. And Mr. Northman, on behalf of the people of America, let me repeat how grateful we all are. Take care." And he hung up. I hit the end button on my phone, and it was immediately followed by screams from the people in the room. Even some of the vampires.

"My God, Eric," Rasul said. "This is so huge! You will be forever known as the vampire who saved America!" Everyone laughed.

"Godric, don't you feel you should get this honor as much as I do?"

Godric shook his head, "Eric, you were the one who uncovered the nest with Diane and her cohorts. You were the one who got her a deal which allowed her to share what she knew. No, min son, this is all on you, and I couldn't be happier or prouder." He started walking back to his seat, "besides, I'm much happier in the background, and this government job was already starting to become a little too public for my comfort."

Sookie looked worried, "Eric, I'll need to go shopping for a new dress to wear to the ceremony." She looked around, "and I'll need to get the proper clothes for Clovache as well. Oh my God, I can't believe I'm going to meet the president of the United States," she squealed. She turned to her family, "can Jason and Gran come? What about you Granddaddy, do you want to come?"

Fintan smiled at her, "no, Sookie, but I'm glad that you are so excited. I think it would be nice if Adele and Jason accompanied you, though." I could tell that he knew how much this trip would mean to them.

"I'll make sure they are included. Rasul, Pam do you want to attend?" I asked.

Rasul looked at Pam, "I would like to attend. Pam?"

She shrugged as if it were no big deal, "sounds fun."

I smiled, "well, the president did invite me and my family. That includes all of you, as far as I'm concerned."

Thalia quietly said, "I'd like to come…"

I smiled at her, "of course, Thalia. I meant what I said. All of you are family."

Jason added, "plus Lafayette and Jesus, right?"

And with that statement I could tell that Jason and Lafayette had that 'best friend' relationship that most people wished they had. I remembered that they had been roommates in college. It was an odd pairing, the high school jock and the guy everyone ridiculed/tortured for being gay. Sookie had once told me that Lafayette was also an athlete in football and baseball, but that didn't negate the bad things that must have been tossed his way due to his open lifestyle in a small back-woods high school. I had to admire Jason and Sookie even more for embracing Lafayette so fully, when it would have surely damaged their adolescent popularity standing, which I knew from watching television and movies was very important to teenagers. What brave young people they all must have been in the face of the non-acceptance that would have surely terrified all other adolescents. The one thing that separated them from all their peers was how very comfortable they all were in their own skin. Most adolescents did the awkward 'skin' dance well into adulthood.

I nodded, "of course. Why don't you call them and have them meet us at Fangtasia tonight. Sookie said this would also be our rehearsal for the wedding, so Lafayette should be there." With that, everyone left to get ready to go to the club.

Just after they were gone, my phone rang again, "Northman."

"How does it feel to be a bona fide American hero, Mr. Northman?" Homeland Security asked.

I chuckled, "I'm not quite sure yet. I just spoke to the president."

"Wow, even I have never done that," he confessed.

I thought for a moment, "who decided to lead everything to the press so quickly?"

"I did. Our covert forces had taken down the last of the cells this afternoon. I was worried that there may be some straggler vampires who hadn't been rounded up, and I didn't want to risk any random attacks so I figured that having this on the news would stop that," he answered. "My superiors agreed, and so far that strategy has worked."

"Very good. Are you still coming to the wedding on Friday?" I asked.

I could hear the smile in his voice, "wouldn't miss it for the world. Langford's wife is driving in from Texas to join him for it. Apparently, she's quite the fan of yours."

I chuckled, "what about you? Do you have someone you want to bring in to join you?" I was genuinely curious.

"I'm divorced. Married to my job, actually. So no, no one to bring in," he replied.

"I've heard that weddings are a great place to meet people… I wouldn't know for myself, never having been to a human ceremony… Well as human as this wedding can be," I said, and he laughed.

"I won't be holding my breath. I'm not exactly George Clooney. But I want to be there since the bride and groom have been such a big part of my life… for at least the last few weeks," he added.

"I'll be glad for you to join us. We're heading to Fangtasia in a little while for a combination celebration slash wedding rehearsal. Feel free to join us," I invited.

"I have quite a few things I'm winding up here, but later we may swing by. If we can't, you guys have fun," he said.

"I'm sure we will. Thank you, Agent Pettigrew, for having our back. I hope you get some reward out of this whole scenario."

He laughed, "oh I will, I will. I've already been promised." With that he hung up.

Sookie was just coming from downstairs. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a pale blue satin blouse. She was gorgeous. She walked up to me and put her arms around my shoulders, "Hey you," she said. "We're getting married in just a few days. And it looks like all the … villains who would like to prevent that are gone. Are you ready to be a husband?"

"I am so past ready… I can't wait to make you my wife, my love. I can't wait to do all the husbandly duties – taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, fixing things that break… "

She tilted her head to the side, "where did you get this list of husbandly duties? Also, I can't quite picture you actually doing any of those things…"

"Well, I would… or at least I'd hire people to make sure they were done…" I smirked.

Her tinkling laughter warmed my heart, "there's the Eric I know and love. Although, taking out the garbage isn't all that hard."

"OK, I'll give you that one," I paused. "How are you feeling, my love?"

"Never better. I am so happy to have all this bull… corn behind me."

I just laughed, "it must be ten times harder to avoid curse words than actually using them."

She shook her head, "you have no idea." I thought that was very funny. "Really, Eric, sometimes I just want to let the curse words fly. But Gran raised me differently. And I'm determined to find a better way to communicate."

"And I, for one, support that notion," Fintan said as he entered the den. I shook my head when I saw him. His hair was pulled back in a low pony-tail that covered his ears, and he was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a button-down shirt tucked in. He looked almost normal. Almost. He would never really be able to shake the otherworldliness he exuded, but he would fit in fine at Fangtasia. I smirked internally at the thought of a prince of the sky fae in my vampire bar. "By the way, I've tried to prepare Adele for what she might see inside your bar. Otherwise she might be overwhelmed," he said. I knew exactly the people in the bar that he was talking about, and I nodded.

Just then, Adele came down the stairs in a dark blue dress that was belted at the waist and accentuated her slim figure. She was followed by Jason who was clearly excited about visiting a vampire bar. He announced, "Lafayette and Jesus are going to meet us there."

We ended up taking several cars to Fangtasia, and I made sure that whoever was working the door allowed all members of our party access. I had phoned ahead to reserve the large, circular booths on either side of mine. That should give all of us plenty of room. When we arrived, Maxwell Lee was at the door to assure that everyone got in okay. I told him about Lafayette and Jesus, whom he hadn't met.

For about an hour we just talked and drank. Then Sookie got serious, and we all gathered around as she walked us through the wedding, and all of our procedures. Then it occurred to her that we didn't have any ushers. She explained that ushers were a part of the wedding party, and they seated guests. They were usually good friends of the bride and groom, and we needed at least three. She was getting more and more upset trying to think of who to ask, and I told her to hold on. I asked Francois and Maxwell Lee to join us, and asked Sookie to explain the usher situation to them, and she finished by graciously saying, "Eric and I would be most honored if you would accept this role in our wedding."

They both looked taken aback. Maxwell Lee looked at me and I nodded. He said, "No, I am honored that you have asked me. Of course I will be glad to be an usher at your wedding."

Francois added, "I feel the same way. I too am honored, Madamoiselle Sookie."

Sookie breathed a partial sigh of relief, "I really would like to have one more usher…"

Jason was on his phone, "hold on," he said into the phone, and he handed it to Sookie who looked at him questioningly. Jason just smiled at her.

"Hello?" Sookie asked and listened for a moment, "Hoyt? Why, hey there. How are you doing?" Again she listened. "Well, yeah, Jason was right; I do have a favor to ask you. You know I'm getting married Friday night, well of course you do since you got an invitation. Well, anyway, we put this wedding together really quickly, and we forgot to ask any of our really close friends to be ushers. I was hoping that you could be one. I know it's so last minute, but we've… You can?! Awesome. I'll talk to you tomorrow about everything you need to know. Thank you so much!" They chatted for a few more minutes, and then she hung up. "Thanks, Jase," she beamed at him.

After a while, Sookie said she needed to go to the restroom, and she got up followed by Clovache. I was talking to Godric and Fintan when I heard Clovache say my name a little louder than in just conversation. I immediately got up and went to the hallway outside of the restrooms. When I got there I saw a very bizarre sight. Jason was on the far end of the hallway, and Clovache had her arm across the front of Sookie holding her back.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Sookie looked at Clovache and asked, "that's what I'd like to know? I was just talking to Jason and Clovache freaked out and pulled me away from him."

I thought as hard as I could in his direction, thinking "Fintan, we need you." Over and over again. I walked between Clovache and Jason, never taking my eyes off of him. A moment later, Fintan appeared in the hallway.

"Eric, step away from him. Remember your dream," Fintan said very, very softly. Jason materialized a sword and took a swipe at my neck, but I was faster than he was and ducked. Then very quickly, Fintan popped behind Jason and put a knife to his neck. "Hello, Dermott. It's been a long time." The skin on Dermott's neck started sizzling, so I surmised that the knife was made of iron. Dermott dropped his sword in pain and grabbed at Fintan's arm wrapped around his body. Blood started running down Dermott's neck.

"Not long enough for me, you fucker," Dermott rasped in the same accent and speech cadence as Fintan.

"Oh my God," Sookie whispered. "He looks just exactly like Jason. He had just asked me to go outside in the back with him when Clovache stepped in." She turned to Clovache, "I'm so sorry if I snapped at you. How did you know?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Clovache asked. "This person is much, much older than Jason."

Sookie and I looked back at Dermott and then at Clovache. "Uh huh," Sookie muttered. I could understand her confusion, because even I couldn't see the age difference.

Clovache insisted, "he's aged the way that Fintan has…"

Sookie just said, "okay…"

Just then Jason came into the hallway behind Sookie, and he stopped suddenly when he saw us all assembled there. "What's going… What the hell?" he said when he spied Dermott who was even dressed like Jason.

"See!" Clovache insisted in her comparison of the identical men.

Fintan chuckled, "I'm afraid their eyes aren't trained the same way that a Britlingen's are. They can't see Dermott's or my age like you can." While they were talking, I walked into my office, returned with iron chains, and wrapped them around Dermott.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing," he asked. "You can't keep me here, you vampire scum."

I raised my voice only a little, "Maxwell Lee." I looked at Dermott, "this is my club, my fiancé, my world, my rules. You are going to be a guest of mine for a little while until we get everything sorted out. Then, I'll probably turn you over to Fintan to take back to your father."

Maxwell Lee entered the now crowded hallway, and I said, "Would you please take any help you need and move our two prisoners downstairs into the same cell. I have need of the other cell." He nodded and left to take care of my orders.

Dermott was shaking his head, "everything is ruined. You can't trust vampires. They were supposed to take over this realm so I could take over ours, but they failed. Now everything is ruined." He turned and looked at Fintan, "you were supposed to die, and I was going to dance in your dust."

Fintan said dryly, "I've missed you, too, brother."

Jason added, "Sookie, you couldn't tell that wasn't me? Hell, I'm a lot better lookin' than him."

Everyone in the hall, except Dermott, snickered at that. They really did look just alike. Maxwell Lee returned and nodded to let me know that his task was accomplished. Fintan and I accompanied a shrieking Dermott down to the basement and placed him in the vacated cell. Dermott's shrieking joined Freyda's shrieking about refusing to share a cell, she was after all a queen, joined by Clancy's shouting when he recognized Dermott and wondered what in the hell had gone wrong with Victor's plan. Several times I told them to shut up to no avail as the cacophony of their shrill voices climbed and climbed.

Finally, Fintan had had enough, and he very majestically waved an arm across both cells. Suddenly there was silence. All three of the prisoners were moving their mouths, but no sound was coming out. That was a neat trick. He just looked at me, "they were giving me a headache, and I've never had one before."

I grabbed a couple cold True Bloods from the refrigerator and slid them into the cell holding the vampires. Then I visually double-checked the locks on the fairy's chains. They would hold him just fine, and I would assign a round-the-clock guard detail to the cells.

"Now you all be good boys and girl. I don't want to have to come down here and punish you," I winked as Fintan and I started up the stairs. "How long will that silencing magic work?"

"Until I take it off. They should be very quiet for a while," he grinned. "It's just too bad I can't silence their shrieking thoughts."

We got back to our booths in the club, and we continued celebrating both our recent victory and the upcoming wedding. We had defeated our enemy, I was going to get some high award, and in just a few days I would be marrying the most beautiful woman in this or any other realm. Tonight it was good to be Eric Northman.

 **AN:** Thank all of you who went and listened to that song in the last chapter and had fun with Eric's song and dance.

Many, many thanks to everyone who reviewed since the last chapter was posted, as of 12/14/17: princessspot5, ljhjelm49, 2 Guests (even though I'm not entirely sure one of them was being complimentary), Asami's clown, MsNorthman, fanfictionfan4444, tleel, VampMad50, ericlover69, Perfecta999, Duckbutt, jackie69, bttrflybelle, Medtran, hummingbirdgrrl, ciasteczko, Nicolle1977, dragonfey57


	54. Chapter 54

Hello! I always thought I wouldn't post a non-chapter post, but I'm a little spun by the holidays. I've been shopping on Amazon for the last 6 weeks, some presents are here, some are not, and I'm putting together a rather large home-made cookbook (with graphics and pictures of their families, etc.) for my three kids (and/or their spouses) and my two nieces. In the midst of doing all this, I realized that I may not have the next chapter up before Christmas (although I will most certainly try), and I wanted to give you guys a little present.

A few chapters back I wrote a bit about what a bad singer Sookie had been in her church's children's choir. Much after that, a friend posted this video on facebook, and I thought, OMG this is just what I was talking about! I warn you to have a tissue available because it made me laugh so hard that I had tears running down my cheeks. And so I wish you all a most Happy Holidays. Replace the things in the parentheses with what is described therein – no spaces:

Well… fanfic wouldn't let me post the URL, so private message me, and I will send you the post.


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55 – T-Minus 2 Days

 _Last time:_

 _We got back to our booths in the club, and we continued celebrating both our recent victory and the upcoming wedding. We had defeated our enemy, I was going to get some high award, and in just a few days I would be marrying the most beautiful woman in this or any other realm. Tonight it was good to be Eric Northman._

Now:

After the evening wound down and we all returned to our own homes, Sookie and I had our house to ourselves once more. Well, except for Clovache, who had retired to her room upstairs. So we had a little victory celebration of our own out in the pool, and then in the hot tub, and then in the kitchen, and then in our bedroom. It was a good thing that Sookie didn't require as much sleep as a normal human because she was determined to return to work the next day. For the first time in a while, she and I both slept peacefully. I woke with her in the morning, determined to have one final celebration in the shower before she went to work.

Before she left, we decided that we would go shopping that night so that she could purchase a new dress for the award ceremony. Pam and Rasul would be joining us so that they could replace their wedding clothes that were destroyed in the New Orleans palace. I also had a few other things I wanted to purchase, but I was going to do most of my shopping online for pickup in the store, and then I was going to get Pam to hold on to those particular purchases until tomorrow night, the night before our wedding, for Sookie's Bachelorette Party.

After she left for the day, I continued my online shopping – for the things I wanted my Sookie to have. We may be getting married more quickly than normal, but I was determined to give my bride as much of the normal experience as I could. I looked first at the La Perla website, which I knew that Pam liked for her lingerie. And they were having a sale! I purchased several bras – I knew Sookie's exact size – and matching panties. I was somewhat shocked to discover that a bra could cost $339 on sale. Ah well, my Sookie deserved the best. Then I bought several nightgowns and negligees. Sookie may not have time for the traditional lingerie shower, but she would still get the lingerie. I chuckled and waggled my eyebrows as I thought about how these were almost as much presents for me as they were for her. I shrugged when I surmised that perhaps that was the point of this pre-wedding ritual. I finished at this website with several teddies in different colors. Then I moved on to Victoria's Secret. There I bought dozens of undergarments, which I fully intended to rip off of her in the future (bookmarking the website for future replacement purchases), as well as teddies, nightgowns, and robes. When all was said and done, I'd purchased quite the lingerie wardrobe for my bride. Pam would pick them all up for me tonight.

I had to admit that I felt much better after all of my online shopping. In point of fact, I felt quite horny. That was some mighty fine underwear I had been looking at all morning. And the fact that I imagined my Sookie in each piece didn't help matters much. I picked up my cell phone and dialed her number.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hello, my Sookie," I responded.

She chuckled, "what have you been doing this morning? I've been feeling such a sense of… I don't know… wickedness… from you. What are you up to, you naughty boy?"

I laughed out loud; no one would have dared called me "boy" in a thousand years.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing, my Sookie, I'm just happy," I responded. "After all, I'm getting married day after tomorrow. I've waited for this event for over a millennium. Don't you think that should make me happy?"

"Uhmm, okay?" she answered. Then there was a pause, "why do you suddenly sound so… goofy?"

That made me laugh even harder, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I'm just deliriously happy, my love."

There was a long pause, and then she was laughing, "you're such a goof, Eric. I love you so much."

I joined her laughter, "I can't wait until you are my wife, Sookie."

"I'm just as anxious to make you my husband, my Eric," she smiled. "I'll be home in just a little while, you know."

"Oh, I know. I just needed to hear your beautiful voice this morning," I shared.

She continued her chuckles, "OK, Eric. I have to get back to work. I love you, too. I'll see you later."

"See you later, my love," I said. She hung up, but I wished we could talk on.

Ah, well… On my own again for the day. I turned on the television to see what was on. Middle of the day broadcasting… _The View_ , interesting… but too much anger. _General Hospital,_ not so much, and there were hours to Judge Judy, so flipping around it is. USA channel, _Law and Order, SVU_. I've watched it before with Jayne Mansfield's daughter and IceT. Pass. Through the channels, through the channels, BBC America – a _Doctor Who_ marathon. I could enjoy that. I kicked back and put my feet up on my desk, as I watched the Doctor and Rose try to solve another problematic, otherworldly situation.

I was on the second episode of _Doctor Who_ when my phone rang. I answered, "Northman."

There was a rather long pause on the other end before a woman's voice asked, "Is this Eric Northman?"

"It is," I answered.

"Oh…" and then there was another long pause. "I'm sorry, Mr. Northman, I didn't expect you to answer so I was preparing to leave you a message. This is Patti Easton, I'm one of the President's assistants. I was going to leave instructions and information about your upcoming trip to the White House. Can I just give you those now?"

I smiled at her shock, which was understandable since it was the middle of the day, and I shouldn't be able to answer my phone. "Of course. Or you could email them to me, whichever is easier for you," I offered.

"Email would be much better," she confessed, so I gave her my email address. There was another pause after that, "Mr. Northman, the President looks forward to meeting you…" another pause, "and may I add that I'm very glad that a brave American like you has saved so many."

"Thank you, Ms. Easton. I hope to meet you at the ceremony," I answered.

I heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "I hope so, too," she practically whispered, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. She pulled herself together and continued, "call me if you have any questions. All of my contact information will be in the email. And, Mr. Northman, thank you once again for what you've done for all of us."

"You're very welcome, Ms. Easton, and thank you for the information," I said as I hung up and shook my head. The idea that I was not only a hero, but an _American_ hero seemed still just so bizarre.

I continued with the marathon on television while checking my emails. There were several congratulatory ones sent from vampires and humans based on the news broadcasts. There were also some quasi-congratularoty emails that were just short of a little hostile from a few of the former monarchs who had undoubtedly hoped for Victor's success. Ah well… Nothing to be done for that now.

Sookie and I had decided we would write our own vows, so I set about to do just that. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, so it was just a matter of putting all of my thoughts in the right order. I smiled when I thought that Sookie had never asked me who would be officiating at our wedding. I simply told her that I would take care of it, and she trusted me to do so. Hopefully, she was in for a happy surprise.

Once I got all of that squared away, it was finally time for Judge Judy and the atrocious hairstyles of the women on the show. First case up involved a woman who had rented a chair at a beauty salon. Really? Her hair was the most atrocious shade of orange – mostly – except for the few blonde and black streaks and the two or so inches of brown roots, and it was, well, it was just a mess. Who would trust someone whose hair looked like that to do their own hair? Apparently, my observation wasn't just snide. The owner of the shop had decided to boot her out of her shop… due to her hair. Even though I always kind of look forward to the strange hairdos of the women on this show, this was the first time that the wacky hairdo was actual evidence in the case. That irony made me chuckle out loud. So now Judge Judy had to decide if it was fair that the woman got fired due to her unkempt hair. And people wondered why I enjoyed this show…

Ultimately, Judge Judy found some legal reason within the terms of the contract between the salon owner and the hairstylist on which to decide the case – something about the requirement to keep one's workspace and professional demeanor acceptable. However, Judge Judy did have a few juicy comments to make about the tragic hairstyle.

After Judge Judy, I watched Jeopardy, as usual, and looked into my investment portfolio and the management of my businesses. By the time I was finished with all that, I remembered that I didn't have to stay downstairs (I guess it was just habit), so I got dressed and went upstairs to wait for Sookie to come home. I threw some laundry into the washing machine and started it. I walked outside to watch the sun set; it wasn't quite time for it, but the sky was glorious nonetheless. I sat back on one of the poolside chaise loungers and just took in the end of the day. I would never be able to thank my Sookie for this unbelievable gift. I was still staring up into the darkening sky when I heard her voice.

"Hey, Sweetie. What are you doing?" she asked.

I looked back at her, and she was still in her work uniform of black tanktop and olive cargo pants. She was leaning against a post on the patio. How long had she been standing there, and I hadn't even noticed her arrival? "Watching the sunset," I answered with a smile. "It's the second most beautiful thing I've seen today…" She blushed at my words because she understood immediately what I meant.

"Are we still going shopping tonight?" she asked.

"Of course. We have plenty of time, though. Come over and sit with me." She walked over, and I took her hand and pulled her down onto the chaise. She sat between my legs with her back resting against my chest, her fingers intertwining with mine, and together we watched the sun's daily finale. I had never felt so at peace in my long life.

After a long silence, Sookie asked, "did you watch any of the news coverage today?" I shook my head. "Well, apparently, there was a lot more revealed today. If you think you were a big hero last night, you are a gigantic one today." I chuckled at that. "I'm not kidding, Eric. They gave details about how the human government was going to be eliminated, and the human race in America was going to be subjugated. But they were always careful to remind everyone that it was a vampire who brought it all down."

"Any news on the European vampire?" I asked.

"Not that I saw, but I actually did have to work, so I couldn't watch all day," she answered.

"Let's go see what's playing now on the news," I suggested. I grabbed her hand and we walked into the den and turned on the television. I flipped to CNN. They were rebroadcasting all of the things that Sookie had mentioned. They were particularly dramatic in emphasizing how close, how very close to disaster America had been. We watched, cuddled together on the sofa for about half an hour, but there was no mention of Junius Tiberius Ocella or the planned European vampire uprising. I found this worrisome because if he were not caught, then he may well come after me and mine. All of this praise for heroism may have put a huge target on my back. I would have to be on my guard for the foreseeable future. I didn't walk this planet for more than a thousand years to finally, finally find my soulmate and then be killed.

In addition, just because Victor was gone didn't mean that Sookie was finally totally safe. This Roman asshole Ocella was still out there, as well as any other powerful vampire who may take a notion to capture my love. She would have Clovache with her for at least the near-time future, possibly for much longer. That would ultimately cost quite a few dollars, but my Sookie was totally worth it. I don't think she would understand the concept of my nearly inexhaustible wealth. And since I would continue to add to it, there was very little chance of ever running out of money. My Sookie would never want for anything.

Finally it was time to get ready to go shopping. We showered (and more) together, got dressed, and got into the SUV to go pick up Pam and Rasul for our excursion. Together the four of us arrived at the biggest Shreveport mall to shop. We parked and entered through the food court. As we walked through the mall entrance doors Pam looked up at me as if to say, "really?" I knew the smells of the human food would make her testy.

We wandered in and looked around. Pam and Rasul knew where they wanted to go, so they took off in one direction while Sookie and I took off in another direction.

We were walking casually, hand in hand, towards a dress store Sookie wanted to shop. I noticed that there were several people all around us staring. Sookie was blithely chattering away and probably didn't notice, but I did. I was immediately on my guard, though I tried to smile and act normally for her. It was apparent that literally _everyone_ in this mall knew who we were. Finally, we turned into the dress shop Sookie was looking for.

As soon as we were in the store, Sookie turned to me, "did you see that? All those people staring?"

"Yes, I did, my love," I responded.

"It was kind of freaky, don't you think?" she asked.

I smiled and nodded, "Look around, my love, and find several dresses that you like. You can bring more than one to Washington."

She beamed her million watt smile at me, "you don't have to ask me twice. I mean, I'm not going to go crazy or anything, but it would be nice to have a few new dresses to choose from." She began scanning the racks and pulled out several to try on. I looked at other racks and added a few more to her try-on pile. Soon, I noticed that more and more people had started to wander into the store, and most of them didn't appear to be really shopping. I could see that Sookie was watching them as well. I walked to the back counter of the store and found the store manager. Her name tag revealed that she was named Heidi.

"Hello, Heidi, could you help my fiancée and me, please?" I asked her.

She blushed and asked, "what do you need, Mr. Northman?"

I smiled at her, "is there any way that you could lock the door to the dressing rooms so that she can try on her dresses in private? We seem to be drawing quite the crowd."

She looked around at her now nearly full store, "oh my, I see what you mean. Of course, I will be happy to help you."

I could see that Sookie had made all of her selections; we carried them back to the dressing rooms, and true to her word, after telling us to knock when we were ready to come out, Heidi locked the main dressing room door to the rest of the store.

"Wow, how'd you manage that?" Sookie asked.

I shrugged, "I asked…"

She smiled and nodded, "thank you, I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic with so many people in this small dress shop." She started arranging the dresses around the largest dressing room. She turned to me with a wicked smile, "you wanna help me try them on?" Gods Yes, I thought and returned her wicked smile. We were both aware of the people on the other side of the door, so we weren't able to _totally_ enjoy this shopping experience, but we had a lot of fun and laughs while she tried on different dresses. My Sookie's body was so perfect that she did every dress she tried on justice, but she had a real sense of her own style – not to mention impeccable taste, and I was relieved when some of the dresses, though pretty, were put in the discard pile. Ultimately, we ended up with six dresses, all of them gloriously beautiful on Sookie.

"Do you have everything you need to go with them?" I asked. From the slight frown on her face, I could tell that something was wrong. "What is it?" I asked.

"Well, I really need some shoes and purses, a belt or two, and maybe some jewelry… But I don't know how we are going to get all that with the growing crowd. What should we do?"

While she had been trying on her dresses, I had been monitoring the crowd in the store, and it had only grown while we were in the dressing room. "Sookie, the crowd outside has grown. Do you think you could pick out your accessories online, and I can have someone pick them up tomorrow?"

She thought for a minute, "that could work, but Eric, you have to give me the time to do that tonight…"

I looked at her in confusion, and she simply raised a wicked eyebrow. I burst out laughing, "Darling Sookie, love of my life, as much as I always want to ravage your perfect body, I promise I will give you the time you need to order your purses, shoes, and such." I bowed with a flourish at the end of my statement, and she giggled in response. I knocked on the door as instructed, and a moment later I heard the key in the lock. The door opened, and I invited Heidi into the room with us.

"Thank you for your help today," I said. "Sookie has decided that she wants these dresses," I said as I handed the six dresses to her along with my credit card. "Please ring them up and arrange to have them delivered tomorrow morning to this address," I said as I handed her my Bonne Chance card. I would arrange for the dresses to be delivered tomorrow to our house. "Please come get us when you've finished with the transaction." She nodded, walked out with the dresses and my credit card, and locked us in again. I grabbed Sookie and kissed the hell out of her.

When she came up for air, all she could say was "Wow." In just a few moments, Heidi returned with the credit card receipt for me to sign. I handed the receipt back to her along with two one-hundred dollar bills to thank her for her help. She smiled brilliantly when she saw what I had handed her.

Then, she opened the door to the store, with her left arm thrown wide, "please make room," she shouted, as she let us out into the crowd. There were several hundred people in a store designed to accommodate about three dozen at a maximum. I threw my arm over Sookie's shoulder, and I attempted to guide her out of the shop. I managed to get us out of the store, but the crowd in the mall had grown exponentially. And… they'd been joined by paparazzi. As we emerged from the dress shop there were camera flashes that were almost blinding.

We emerged from the store to find not only paparazzi, but also regular news reporters. Together we fought our way through the crowd. We met up with Rasul and Pam just outside of the food court. I could see from Pam's bags that she had picked up the lingerie orders I had placed for Sookie.

We started to make our way through the crowd toward the outside entrance. We were met by news reporters and paparazzi all along the way. Just before we reached the food court someone shouted from the side "Vampire!"

I looked to the side and saw the screamer. Sookie seemed to recognize him. "Garvin," she whispered in my ear, "that's the Fellowship of the Sun guy who came to me that day." I remembered when we had talked on the phone.

I turned to him and said, "Mr. Calhoon, it's so nice to finally meet you in person. Where is your lovely wife, Sue?"

He seemed shocked at my recognition. After a while he spoke, "she was seduced by your evil fiancée. She seems to think you are safe for humans. Somehow, your whore of a fiancée convinced her that you are equal to a human man. But don't worry, I straightened her out; she's at home. I know better. You are evil. You need to be put down…"

The crowd had gotten very, very quiet. If anyone understood the fear of losing your true love, it was me. In addition, I felt pretty sure that Sue had probably met the business ends of Garvin's fists. "Mr. Calhoon,… Garvin… I think I understand what it would feel like to lose the love of your life. Let me help you…" I offered, hoping he would confess something about his wife.

He pulled at his own hair, "shut up, shut up, SHUT UP, you vampire. I don't want to hear you trying to make me feel better, you liar. Somehow my Sue came to believe in you, but I taught her a lesson she won't soon forget. And somehow you've seduced the entire nation. You won't seduce me as well, you evil son-of-a-bitch."

Another silence ensued. Finally a member of the crowd shouted, "shut up you fool. This vampire saved all our lives." There were several other shouts agreeing with that conclusion.

Then one of the mall security guards yelled, "are you stirring up trouble, vampire?" I just looked over at the guard, and he continued, "I won't have you causing trouble in this mall. This here mall is a nice place where _humans_ should feel safe to come together. Why are you causing a scene here?" Seriously? I was the cause of the trouble here? I just looked at him and raised my eyebrows.

However, the reporters present solved my problem as they asked the mall security guard, "are you accusing Mr. Northman of something, Officer? What has he done? As far as we can tell, he was just shopping with his fiancée. Does this mall have an anti-vampire policy?"

Another reporter chimed in, "do the owners of this mall hate vampires?"

And another reporter added, "that man over there," he said, pointing to Garvin Calhoon, "he's the one who started yelling at Mr. Northman."

And another reporter, "are you aware that the President of the United States has declared that this vampire is an American hero? Or does that matter to you and the prejudiced owners of this mall?"

Then there were several shouts out from the crowd, "God bless you Eric Northman!" "You are a good man!" "We won't ever shop here again if they are against you!" I couldn't help but just close my eyes and shake my head. I looked down at Sookie, and she was smiling from ear to ear, as was Rasul, and even Pam had a single eyebrow cocked upward.

And another voice from the crowd, "thank you for saving all of us!" And then there were similar supporting cries and shouts from the crowd.

But Mr. Calhoon wasn't joining in with the crowd. He stood on a table in the food court and shouted, "what's wrong with you people? He's a vampire! Don't fall prey to his lies and tricks." Then he turned to face me, "I don't know how you're doing it, but you won't trick me as well as all of these fools. You are an agent of Satan, and I know it. Open your eyes people."

Several in the crowd were getting angrier and angrier, but not at me. This only made Garvin angrier as well. Before anyone knew what was happening, Garvin reached into his camouflage jacket and pulled out a pistol. At the appearance of a gun, everyone started to scream and run in a panic. I pushed Sookie behind me as Garvin took aim in our direction, but before Garvin could lower the gun to fire, Pam was behind him with one arm around his throat, and the other yanking the weapon from his hands. I almost laughed when I looked down at her feet and saw that she wasn't even standing on the table, but rather was levitating behind the much taller man.

Someone had apparently had the presence of mind to call the police earlier because the blaring of several sirens signaled their approach to the mall. The mall guard shouted out, "nobody move!", and he pulled his gun from its holster. Everyone froze, and that was the sight that greeted the police as they entered the mall. Eight police officers, two in plain clothes, entered through the food court doors.

At first they just froze with their weapons drawn. Most of the people put their hands in the air, and a very long, very awkward silence ensued as the law officers looked all around the area. Finally, one of the plain clothes officers asked, "what the hell is going on here?

I rolled my eyes when the mall guard pointed to me and shouted, "that there vampire was causing trouble. You can see his accomplice up there trying to kill that man. Arrest them."

I thought that Pam and I were about to be put into handcuffs when the crowd started shouting, "no! it wasn't him," and "that guy on the table pulled a gun and tried to kill us," and "No, the vampire's a hero," and "the mall guard is lying," and many, many more random comments regarding the current situation, until their voices rose into a chaotic cacophony of sound.

One of the police officers, one with a very strong voice, shouted, "everybody just **SHUT UP!** " Dead silence followed. With the silence, the strong voice nodded at the plain clothes officer.

"Now, I want just one person, I repeat one person, to tell me just what the hell is going on here." He looked over at one of the reporters, "You. What is the story?"

The reporter looked over at me and then at Garvin, "Detective, Mr. Northman here, along with his fiancée and friends were shopping. Many people recognized him as the hero who saved us all from the vampire apocalypse. As they approached the food court, that man," he said, pointing to Garvin, "started shouting at him with various accusations and other verbal abuse. Then that man," he said pointing to the mall guard, "jumped in with further accusations. They both apparently hate vampires. The rest of us were witness that Mr. Northman did nothing wrong, and it was that man on the table and the mall guard who drew guns. Those guns scared all the rest of us until the lady vampire disarmed that man."

"Uh huh," the detective said. "Does anyone else have a different story?" The mall guard started to speak, but the detective cut him off, "not you, nimrod." The mall guard huffed at the epithet. The detective waited in silence for a few moments, then asked, "what about you, vampire, what do you have to say?" he asked looking directly at me.

I looked down at Sookie who was giving me an encouraging look, but before I could open my mouth to say anything, someone from the crowd shouted, "he didn't do anything wrong. He was just shopping." There were numerous vocal assents to that statement.

The plain clothes officer who seemed to be in charge asked, "is this true, Mr. Northman? Were you just shopping?"

I nodded, "yes. We've been invited to the capitol, the White House. My fiancée wanted a new dress to wear."

Plain Clothes asked, "did you find a dress?"

Sookie giggled, "actually we found… six?" She looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded. "Six new dresses. They're really pretty."

Plain Clothes looked at both of us, "where are they? These six dresses?"

"I asked the store manager to have them delivered to us tomorrow. Since there was quite the crowd growing and following us, we were heading out," I answered.

Plain Clothes squinted his eyes, and then asked, "do you know this vampire holding this man?" He pointed to Pam.

"I do. She stopped him from opening fire here in the mall." I turned to her, "Pam, please hand the gun to the police officers." She immediately came down from the table and handed the weapon over. "Officer? Detective?" I asked and he nodded his head, "Detective, this man has intimated that he may have beaten his wife. Could you please check on her safety?"

Plain Clothes turned to Garvin, "did you? Beat your wife?"

Garvin sputtered for a few moments, "she… she… she told me she believed this disciple of Satan was actually a good person. Can you believe that? This vampire as a good person?"

Plain Clothes tilted his head to the side, "are you kidding me? This vampire just saved every human in America. Are you stupid or something?"

There was complete silence as everyone in the mall turned and looked at Garvin, still standing on top of a food court table. Soon he was letting out a keening cry, "nooooooooo… How can everyone be so blind? He's a fucking vampire! They _only_ do evil! What's wrong with all you morons?"

Plain Clothes started laughing, "how ironic, then. The only person being arrested tonight is you, you imbecile." Then he turned to the mall guard, "and maybe you as well." The crowd erupted into cheers. Four of the uniformed cops moved forward to take both of them into custody to the continuing cheers of the crowd.

Plain Clothes came up to us, "are you all right?"

Sookie answered, "we're fine, but could you really check on his wife. I'm worried that he may have hurt her." He nodded. "Thank you." Then she looked up at me, "can we go home now?"

I knew that even this innocent shopping trip had turned into yet another circus. I was beginning to believe that nothing with Sookie would ever be simple and uneventful. Ah well, life would never be dull…

 **AN** :Sorry it's been several weeks, but after doing 1.4 chapters per week for eleven months in combination with starting a new job the same day I posted the first chapter and the recent holidays, I just ran out of steam. In addition, I had a major death in my family between Christmas and New Year's. As many of you have guessed, this story is winding down, with only 4 to 5 chapters left, give or take on how creative I get. And since I last posted, my imaginary beaufriend Askars has won a Golden Globe, Critic's Choice, and SAG Award (in which he beat Robert fucking DeNiro) for his performance in _Big Little Lies_ (which I haven't seen! Believe it or not…)

A special thanks to the six who were interested in hearing little Sookie sing in her church choir. Did the link I sent in private messages work? What did you think? Did you find it as flipping hilarious as I did? Let me know. I tried in the Chapter 54 posting to put the link with spaces and words instead of dots and slashes, but fanfic is wise to those tricks, apparently. It's so amazing that a Facebook friend of mine posted this snapshot of a children's choir, long after I had written the chapter on Sookie in her church's children's choir.

As ever, special, special thanks to all who have reviewed since the last chapter posting, as of 1/25/18: SweetPrincess4eva, princessspot5, Casey8686, ncmiss12, fanfictionfan4444, ljhjelm49, VampMad50, Asami's clown, tleel, bttrflybelle, Duckbutt, Nicolle1977, ericlover69, Perfecta999, hummingbirdgrrl, 2 Guests, AmandaKate92, jackie69, ciasteczko, MsNorthman, GeminiEyes, elliebaby33, Medtran, bellislefan, georgiasuzy, Heather. Also thanks to the six who inquired about the video: princessspot5, ljhjelm49, VampMad50, ericlover69, Asami's clown, and jackie69.

Oh, and yes, reviews would be greatly appreciated.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56 – T-Minus One Day

 **AN:** Before you read this chapter, you need to go to youtube and listen to "Zoo Station" by U2 from their _Achtung Baby_ CD. You'll see why.

 _Last time:_

 _Plain Clothes came up to us, "are you all right?"_

 _Sookie answered, "we're fine, but could you really check on his wife. I'm worried that he may have hurt her." He nodded. "Thank you." Then she looked up at me, "can we go home now?"_

 _I knew that even this innocent shopping trip had turned into yet another circus. I was beginning to believe that nothing with Sookie would ever be simple and uneventful. Ah well, life would never be dull…_

Now:

Pam reclaimed her shopping bags, and the four of us started to head out of the mall. Before we took more than a few steps, several of the people in the crowd held out their phones and asked for selfies with us. Well, mostly with me, but a few wanted both Sookie and me in pictures with them. I looked at Sookie and she just shrugged, so we took about a dozen selfies before I held up my hands, smiled, and said, "sorry, but we need to be going." No one seemed particularly upset at my calling an end to the selfie spree. We continued our trek to the mall doors while reporters shouted out questions. I decided just to ignore them in favor of making it out of the mall.

Once outside of the mall, we discovered a whole new crowd of people and reporters, and of course the paparazzi cameras were flashing a mile a minute. We finally made it to the SUV and headed home.

"Good lord," Sookie exclaimed once we were on our way. "That was intense. I'll never take shopping for granted again." Rasul and I just chuckled.

"One should _never_ take shopping for granted, my dear Sookie," Pam stated as if she were sharing something biblical. The chuckles from Rasul and me turned into full-on guffaws at that statement. She looked at both of us and asked, "what's so funny?" which just made us laugh that much harder. Even Sookie chuckled a little. "Whatever…" Pam stated, shaking her head. Rasul threw his arm around Pam's shoulder and kissed her on the temple. At that gesture, even she smiled.

After we dropped Rasul and Pam off at Pam's house, Sookie and I made our way home. Once inside, Clovache was there to assure herself of our safety, and then she retired to her room. For just a moment, I contemplated Clovache's possible boredom. I thought that maybe we should find things to entertain her more, but then I remembered the astronomical sum we were paying for her services, and I let myself off of that particular hook. Even so, I vowed to find things to interest her in the future.

True to my word, I led Sookie to my laptop in the bedroom and left her alone to order the accessories she needed for her new dresses. I turned on the television and reclined on the sofa to watch while she completed her tasks. However, I was monitoring her actions enough that I noticed when she pulled out her own credit card to pay for purchases. With vampire speed I arrived at her side at the computer and grabbed her credit card out of her hand. "No, my Sookie, these purchases are on me," I stated.

"Eric, I have money," she protested.

I smiled, "I know, my love, but if we had been able to buy these items at the mall tonight, you know I would have paid for them just like your dresses. Why should it be any different now?" She seemed conflicted. "Sookie, I am very proud of the business you've created. However, compared to other businesses, it's still in its infancy. The more money you can save and re-invest in your business, the more successful it will become. Let me help you with that by saving you money on the day to day expenses of your living. I am your husband, or at least I will be in another day or so. I promise that no one will celebrate the success of The Enchanted Forest more than I."

Sookie looked into my eyes for a moment, weighing my words, and then she smiled, "OK." When she finished up her shopping she brought my credit card to me along with a list of the purchases and where they could be picked up. "Thank you, my Eric, for my beautiful new things."

I returned her smile, "you're very welcome, my Sookie." I hugged her to me. "Hold on a moment, and I will arrange to have them picked up and delivered?" She nodded, and I rapidly sent an email to my day man. When I was done, I returned to her. "Are you finished shopping for the night?" Again, she nodded. "Well then, how do you feel about a late night dip in the pool? Clothing completely optional…"

She closed her eyes, "Mmmmm…" was all she replied. It was all I needed. I picked her up, and I carried her upstairs at vamp speed.

Soon we were both naked and making out in the pool. Sookie came up for air and started to giggle. "What?" I asked her.

"Are you sure you are ready for your bachelor party? I can't believe you let Jason plan it."

"Why? What does he have planned?" I asked, genuinely curious. When Jason had offered, while he was staying here at our house, I had agreed without giving it a second thought. Now, Sookie was making me wonder if I'd made a mistake. And apparently Lafayette was planning Sookie's bachelorette party.

"I have no idea. He and Lafayette have been whispering together for the last couple days, and worse they start to giggle after a while. But when I ask them what they're up to, they get really sober really fast and say 'nothing' in unison. So I know they are both up to something," Sookie said.

I shook my head, "well, you can tell me all about your party after you get home tomorrow night, and I'll tell you about mine," I offered.

"Uhmm… Eric, I'm not spending the night here tomorrow night… didn't you know that?" she asked.

What?! "What do you mean? Why won't you be coming home?" I asked, slightly panicked. How could I assure her safety if she were not only out without me, but also spending the night somewhere else?

"Relax, Eric. I'll have Clovache with me the whole time, as well as Pam, Lafayette, and Jesus at the party. I'm spending the night at Gran's because it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride on their wedding day before the wedding. It was Gran's idea, and I agreed, so that we could spend the day together. My wedding dress is already there," Sookie added. She looked at my face and cracked up laughing, "are you actually pouting, Eric?"

I put my hand on my mouth only to discover that I was, in fact, pouting. I couldn't help but chuckle, because I don't think I'd ever pouted as a vampire. Or as a human man. "Why am I just hearing about this now?" I diverted.

She smiled, "well, I've been thinking about it for a while, but Gran and I talked about it today, and that's when I made my decision. I'm taking the day off, and Gran and I are going to a salon/spa to get the full pampering and beauty treatment."

I hated that that all made sense. I hated even more the thought of even one night without my Sookie. She was looking closely at me, "what, Eric?"

I smiled and shook my head once more, "how am I supposed to have a good time at my bachelor party when I'm worrying about your safety?" I asked.

"Don't be silly. We were always going to have separate parties. That hasn't changed."

"Yes, but I thought that I would be seeing you at the end of the evening…" She tilted her head and lifted one eyebrow. I knew that look; it meant I was being ridiculous. "Check that eyebrow, my love, I'm quite aware that I'm being ridiculous. I guess I never want to be separated from you. And before you protest, I know that we can't always – how do you say it? – be joined at the hip." I thought for a second, "you know what this means, don't you?"

"What?" she chuckled.

"That I'm going to be horny as hell all during our wedding. It will have been nearly two whole days since we fucked!" I exclaimed.

She made really sad eyes at me and said, "poor Eric… however will you endure it? I guess we'll just have to make up for it tonight, eh?" And at that declaration she waggled her eyebrows and attempted to swim away from me. I grabbed her foot before she could get too far and pulled her back to me.

"Just where do you think you are going?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around her. She threw back her head and giggled merrily. I kissed down the column of her throat and payed special attention to the indention at the bottom. She gasped at the sensation. I kissed my way to her ear, "are you sure you want to miss this tomorrow night?" I whispered.

"Mmmmm… I'll miss you, too, my Eric," she whispered back just as I lifted her up and then down onto myself. "Aaahhhh…" she sighed.

How did I ever exist before this amazing, magical, beautiful woman entered my life? I would never get over how complete she made me feel. Not _just_ when we were having sex, but _especially_ when we were having sex. She put her hands on my shoulders to assist her in her up and down, up and down. I put my hands on either side of her waist to help her. And then we kissed. Her kisses, gods her kisses, were better than anything else on this planet. Soon, not only was she moving herself up and down, but also adding little hip rotations every time she moved all the way down on me. Where the hell did she learn such things? I know for a fact that she was a virgin before me. Her sexual intuition was unparalleled. She ran her tongue up the side of my neck to my ear which she treated the same as my mouth, thrusting her tongue in and around. Gods that turned me on. I literally felt my eyes roll back in my head. I always prided myself on my stamina, but Sookie was constantly challenging it. She just felt so fucking good! Before long, both of us were breathing heavily, which was quite the feat, since I didn't even need to breathe. But something about making love to my Sookie pushed all my boundaries. We both came together with loud exclamations, a bright light shooting forth from where we were joined, and then just held each other tightly while she leaned her head against the side of mine. I would swear that I felt my heart beat several times before it stopped again.

"I love you so fucking much, Sookie," I breathed. "I swear to the gods that my need for you is like an ache deep inside me." She tried to speak a few times before just nodding her head.

When she'd recovered the ability to speak, she whispered in my ear, "after I leave tomorrow morning, then next time we'll see other will be at our wedding. And then you'll truly be mine."

I knew that she understood the sacredness of our bond, but to her the wedding would truly unite us. "I'll be the one at the end of the aisle waiting for you…"

I could feel her smile on my shoulder, "I'll be the one in white walking toward you…" I closed my eyes as I imagined how beautiful she would look. I was still inside her, and I became instantly hard again.

Sookie felt it instantly, looked up at me, and responded with, "well, well, well… look who's ready to go again." I just smirked at her, and she looked directly into my eyes and joined her forehead to mine as she once again started to move, very, very slowly. "Eric, how are we ever going to get anything done? All I want to do when I'm with you is have sex." She continued to move up and down, up and down. "I know other couples…" she was breathing heavily, "talk and (pant-thrust) eat and (pant-thrust) watch TV and (pant-thrust) surf the internet and (pant-thrust) other stuff. But all I want to do (pant-thrust) when I'm with you (pant-thrust) is… is… is… fuck!"

I knew she was nearly lost in the moment because my Sookie didn't use profanity. Ever. "I understand your dilemma? Confusion? I feel the exact same way, my love" I answered. I wanted to say that at some distant point in the future we would feel differently, but I couldn't make that statement and believe it. I knew that I would never tire of her love… of her body… So, I simply kissed her, repositioning my mouth over hers again and again and again. When we'd fulfilled this sexual excursion, we moved on to another one in the hot tub. Ultimately, we moved down to our bedroom at nearly three in the morning, where we made love for almost another hour. Afterward, we lay face to face in bed, just caressing each other.

"We're so close, my Eric, to being husband and wife. I can hardly believe it," Sookie said with a tired smile.

"You need to sleep, my love. I want you to enjoy yourself tomorrow night." She yawned widely. I pulled her to me, "sleep. I've got you," I said.

"Mmmhmmm…" she said as she drifted off with her head on my shoulder. I kept softly rubbing my hand up and down her back and leaned my cheek against the top of her head. And I wondered for the umpteenth time how I got so fucking lucky. Soon after, I fell asleep myself.

I slept a peaceful, dreamless sleep. When the alarm clock went off the next morning, my eyes popped open, almost like awakening from the normal vampire day-death. I felt Sookie stretch and reach over to shut off the blaring, obnoxious noise of the alarm. She sat up and stretched again. I sat up with her and kissed her on the shoulder nearest me. "Hey you," she said with a sleepy smile.

"Hey yourself," I said as I pulled her to me and kissed the top of her head and hugged her. "Let's hop into the shower together, ok?" I offered.

"OK," she replied and threw back the covers on our bed. She stood to the side of the bed and held out her hand to me. I grabbed it and then rushed us to the shower. We washed and laughed together, in addition to having a rousing, joyful round of morning sex. When we made our way back into the bedroom, I noticed that Sookie was packing a bag. I guess that made sense, since she would be spending the night with her grandmother, and then need to get ready for the wedding elsewhere. Still, it made my heart feel uncomfortable.

"This will be the last night, EVER, that we spend apart, my Sookie," I declared with determination.

She looked at me and smiled, "absolutely." When she had finished her packing and gotten dressed, she put her hand on the side of my face and said, "until tomorrow night, my Eric. We will be forever together. I love you so, so much."

I couldn't help but smile, "have fun tonight."

She again tilted her head to the side, "you too, but not too much." She waggled her eyebrows after her statement. I cracked up at that sight.

"I'm not the one staying away from you tonight, Sookie," I laughed. "I love you, too." And with that, she turned and walked away from me. I shook my head as I remembered that tomorrow night I would make her mine… as she said… forever. Oh gods, please let that be true, I fervently prayed.

I sat down and looked at my emails. I had one from Maxwell Lee that was somewhat troubling. Apparently there were so many people clambering to get into Fangtasia last night that there was almost a riot. It probably wasn't good business, but since we were going to be closed for the wedding, I figured we might as well close tonight as well. That would let things settle down a bit, and it had the bonus of freeing both Maxwell Lee and Francois for the bachelor party. I emailed him back with instructions, and then I emailed Jason to let him know as well since he was planning the party.

Again, I wondered what I had gotten myself into with Jason. Surely he wouldn't think that a vampire bachelor party would involve getting wasted at some dive bar or hotel room stripper party. I shook my head. Fairly quickly, I got an email response from Jason instructing me to have all my friends at my house a half hour after full dark, and that he would pick us all up there. That thought gave me pause. I did a mental head count, and I knew there were seven people in our party – in addition to Jason and me, there were Godric, Rasul, Maxwell Lee, Francois, and Jason's friend Hoyt – that I knew of, and Jason drove a truck that would hold four people comfortably and five at the most. Were the rest of us supposed to ride in the back? Visions of all of us dressed in overalls over plaid shirts, wearing dilapidated straw hats, with a long sliver of hay stalk hanging from the side of our mouths filled my imagination.

I also tried to remember that as much as Jason played the 'good ole boy' routine, he was actually quite bright. Gods, I hoped he was.

I heard a noise upstairs, and I realized it was my day man delivering Sookie's dresses, maybe even her other purchases as well. That would be great. Once I heard him let himself back out of the house, I headed upstairs. Sure enough, Sookie's dresses were laid over the back of a living room chair. In addition there were numerous other bags. Excellent. I took them all downstairs and checked everything against the list Sookie had given me last night. Everything was here. I hung all of the dresses in Sookie's closet, and placed the other bags beside the sofa in our bed chamber. I wanted her to be able to find everything easily when we got ready to pack for Washington.

As the day passed, my curiosity for what lay in store tonight only grew. I guess I was accustomed to being in charge of events, but ever since I'd met Sookie, I'd learned that all bets were off regarding expectations.

About two o'clock my phone rang. "Northman," I answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Eric are you all right?" Sookie asked.

And just like that something eased in my chest, "yes, my love, I am fine. Why do you ask?" I responded.

"Well, I've been getting this really weird vibe from you today. It's almost like you are… I don't know… _fretting_ ," she replied.

I raised an eyebrow she couldn't see, "I beg your pardon. I will have you know that I do not _fret._ Never have, never will." By the gods, I had been fretting, but I wasn't about to admit to it.

There was a momentary silence on her end before she snickered, "OK. If you say so…" Then there was another silence, "you know I'll be OK tonight, right?"

Ah, so that's why she thinks I'm fretting. "Of course, Sookie. Please have fun, and…" I paused.

"And what?" she asked after a few seconds.

"You don't happen to know what Jason has planned for tonight do you?"

"Ahhhh, that's what the fretting was about."

I interrupted her, "I repeat, I do not fret… So what does he have planned?" By the gods, what was happening to me? Pouting last night and fretting today. Pull yourself together, Northman.

She giggled, "I have no idea. He's being very secretive, and so is Lafayette. There's no telling when it comes to those two…"

"He knows vampires can't drink and eat, right?" I asked.

"Duh, Eric. Of course. Don't worry so much about it; I'm sure whatever he's got planned will be fine… at least I hope so," she said.

Her final equivocation didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence. I needed to suck it up and stop worrying. "You're right; I'm sure it will be fine. You have fun tonight, my Sookie, and next time I see you will be moments away from being married."

"That's right… You have fun tonight, too, and I love you, Eric," she said almost breathlessly.

We both hung up. I decided that if whatever Jason had planned was totally inappropriate for the five vampires in the party, that I would gently persuade him in a new direction. He was going to be my brother-in-law, so I wanted to get along. After that I watched a little television, played games on my computer, and just generally… putzed around the house, I think it was called. I did check the news a few times to see if there was any more word on Ocella (there wasn't), and what news they had from last night's incident in the mall. There was quite a bit of coverage about that, and it was all favorable for me and my shopping party. In fact, protests had sprung up at a lot of the Fellowship of the Sun churches after the news broke. Excellent.

Finally, it was time to get ready for Jason's bachelor party. He had said to dress casually, so I donned my usual t-shirt (this one was a Harley Davidson shirt) and jeans. Godric was the first to arrive at my house followed closely by Maxwell Lee and Francois, who had ridden together. Rasul was the last to arrive since he was being dropped off by Pam, who was then heading out to join Sookie's bachelorette party. My vampire friends all asked what we were doing, and I had to confess to them that I had no idea.

At almost exactly half an hour after full dark, there was a knock on the door. Jason was leaning against the exterior door jamb with a shit-eating grin and his friend Hoyt.

"Y'all ready to par—tay?" he asked boisterously. His enthusiasm was met with dead silence from the vampires, which made his friend Hoyt snicker after a minute. He was not discouraged, "well, come on then, and he gestured to the obnoxious monster of an automobile in the driveway opposite the front door. Apparently, he had rented a super-stretch Hummer limo. "Ain't she a beauty?" he asked beaming.

Godric was the first to try to be nice, "well… she certainly is big." Maxwell Lee even whistled.

"Come on, let's all hop in," Jason encouraged. The seven of us got into the rear of the limo, and there was room for several more people.

"Are we expecting anyone else to join us?" I asked as the limo took off.

"Nope, I just wanted us to have plenty of room. You're a big fella, Eric, but in here you can stretch right on out, if you wanna. Cool, huh?" he said.

His enthusiasm was proving to be contagious, and I smiled, "cool." I paused, "where's Batanya?" If she were letting him roam around without protection we would have words.

"She rode here with us, but when we got here, she popped back to Sookie. She's going to be a part of that party." That made sense; it would be hard to attack Jason with five vampires as protection.

That was when I noticed there were curtains that were fastened in gathers over top and bottom curtain rods over all of the windows. I reached over to see if there was a split in the curtains, but Jason stopped me.

"Uh, uh, uh… No peaking. I want our destination to be a total surprise," he admonished with a wide smile. I looked at him for a moment, and he gave me a pleading-eye look, so I shrugged and decided to play along. I did as he had recommended and stretched 'right on out'.

Jason then opened a box at the front of the limo and passed out warm Royalty Blended to all the vampires. I expected him to drink a bottle of beer, or something else alcoholic, but to my surprise, he pulled out two soft drinks for him and Hoyt. I guess he thought that since the vampires weren't getting drunk then neither would the humans? That seemed extraordinarily polite for Jason.

Then a thought occurred to him, "Hoyt, did I forget to introduce you to everyone?" Hoyt smiled and nodded. "Sorry, bubba, I'm just excited. Hey everyone, this here is Hoyt Fortenberry. He's going to be one of the ushers at the wedding tomorrow. He's known me and Sook all our lives. Hoyt, this here is my future brother-in-law Eric, his buddy Rasul, his buddy Godric, and I know you two are the other ushers, but I don't think I caught your names the other night," he said to Francois and Maxwell Lee. I was still trying not to laugh from Rasul and Godric being referred to as my buddies. I was appreciative of his discretion in not revealing that Godric was my maker.

I spoke up, "My apologies, Jason, this is Maxwell Lee, the manager of Fangtasia and a friend and this is Francois who has been my friend for a few centuries."

The vampires all nodded to Hoyt who replied softly with a small wave, "nice to me y'all." It was obvious that Hoyt was a little on the shy side which was a perfect complement for Jason's larger than life persona. No wonder they were such good friends.

We'd been riding and talking about trivialities for quite a little while, and I realized we were headed in a northerly direction. I still had no idea where we were going. "Any idea of how much longer till we get… where we are going?" I asked.

Jason's wide smile returned, "it won't be long now…" he said enigmatically with a waggle of his eyebrows. Soon after his statement the car turned right, went forward in the new direction for about a half a mile, then I could tell by the sounds around the car that we entered a tunnel that was about 50 yards long, then we drove about 200 feet onto grass and the car stopped. Jason exclaimed with exuberance, "we're here!"

He opened the back door of the limo, and with an arm gesture motioned for all of us to come out. We got out and looked around. We were in the grassy center of a large… motor speedway, only there was no one in the spectator stands. In fact, the only other person I could see here was a young man about the same age as Jason and Hoyt in a racing jumpsuit with all of the patches and insignia on it.

"Howdy, y'all," he said. "Welcome to the Shreveport Speedway Supertrack. It's off-season for us here, so Jason was able to arrange this little party for you. I understand there are seven of you, right?"

I looked around the racetrack and noticed seven cars lined up at a starting line. Jason had arranged for us to drive Nascar race cars for my bachelor party? Holy Fuck! That was about the greatest thing I could think of.

"Cool," Godric said with a big grin. By now, all of the normally stoic vampires were smiling.

"You set this up?" I asked Jason.

"Danny here went to high school with me and Hoyt. His father owns the track, so I called and asked. When I told him who it was for, of course he agreed. Did I do good?"

I nodded, "you did GREAT, Jason. This is most unexpected."

Danny said, "now if you all will follow me." We dutifully did so as he walked us over to the cars. To the side of the racetrack was a rack of helmets. "First of all, I have to ask, do all of you know how to drive?" We all nodded. "OK, I need for all of you to sign these release forms that basically say that you can't sue us if you get in a wreck." He passed out the forms, and we all quickly signed them. I could tell that everyone was really excited. The cars looked really fast and had all of the emblems and numbers that you would see in a real race. Danny continued once he had all of the forms back, "now each of you will have to wear a helmet and strap in with the seatbelt system. Do you all agree to that? Just nod your heads," he joked, and we did.

"OK, now, Mr. Northman, you are the groom, right?" he asked, and I nodded. "So you get the newest car, the Camaro ZL1, that red car. Does anyone have a preference for the other cars? We have a Chevrolet SS, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and Chevy Camaro. Take your pick." Everyone else chose a car and a helmet.

I pulled Jason aside, "Jason, this has to be very expensive… you shouldn't have spent so much."

Jason smiled, "yeah, normally it is. I was gonna pass the hat to help pay for it, but when Danny and his dad found out who you are, that you saved America, they gave this to me/us for free! That's why I had enough to go and get the hummer." I laughed, and Jason continued in a whisper, "they may want to take some pictures with you before we go… Ok?" I continued chuckling and nodded. Jason had done very, very well, and I told him so. He blushed and said, "tomorrow night you become my brother. I wanted to do something special for you." I found myself thinking that I was going to like having Jason for a brother. Jason continued, "I mean, I know you can't drink, and over your long life you've seen so many women that a strip show wouldn't mean much, but this…" he gestured to the racetrack and cars, "what fella with a Y chromosome don't want to do this?" I simply laughed and nodded in agreement.

Danny stood before us and explained the track, the length of our race, the rules for the race, the fact that there were no pit crews, so if we blew a tire or something we were simply out of the race and needed to pull over to the right. He then cautioned us, "Vampires, I know you guys have amazing reflexes and stuff, but don't overestimate your car. I mean, they're fast and all, but they can't defy the laws of physics, OK?" We all chuckled and nodded. "OK, get into your cars and get ready."

Danny moved to the rack and pulled out a flag and crossed to the grass just on the inside of the track. He pulled out a bullhorn, "gentlemen, start your engines." I turned over the ignition, and the Camaro ZL1 roared to life. I heard the other engines cranking and screaming as well. The competitor in me took over; I was going to win this fucking race. I think all seven of us were gunning our engines. I don't know why, maybe we all just liked the sound. Out of the speakers in the racetrack I could hear a blaring song by U2 starting. Perfect. He let the songs instrumental introduction, which sounded like gunning engines build to just before the beginning of the vocals and then he waved the flag to GO.

And go we did. My corvette could really go, but this car had been designed, engineered, and built specifically for racing. I immediately took the lead, but Godric was just to my right trying to take over the lead. And surprisingly, Jason was challenging him for second place.

We rounded curve after curve, jockeying for position. Interestingly, we all took the lead at one point or another, even Hoyt. Around and around the track we went. I took the lead again, vying with Godric for first place. We finally got the flag for the penultimate circuit, and everyone punched their accelerators. And as we rounded the last curve, Godric and I were neck and neck, or bumper and bumper. I could see Danny up ahead with the checkered flag, and I floored it. I won! We all took our feet off of the accelerator and made one last, slower paced lap around the course. Ultimately, we all pulled up to the starting/finish line, parked, and turned off our engines. The race had lasted less than an hour, but gods, it was fun.

We all got out of our cars smiling. Danny had a bottle of champagne that he shook, and then let spray all over us. He even had a trophy for the winner, which he awarded to me. Then another racetrack worker emerged with a camera, and all of us posed for pictures together to commemorate our visit here and my bachelor party. Then we took several pictures with Danny and his father who has shown up at the end of the race. Then finally I took pictures with Danny and his father to thank them for the use of the racetrack and cars.

When we were all back in the hummer limo, we were all talking a mile a minute, even the vampires. It was safe to say that we'd all enjoyed this race immensely.

Jason, who was smiling from ear to ear, asked, "so, everyone had a good time?" General words of assent stated that we did. He chuckled, "but wait there's more…"

 **AN:** Thank you for all the kind words since the last posting. Also, thank you to all those who watched little Sookie singing in her church choir and told me how much you enjoyed it. It's not too late if you want to see that. You just have to PM (private message) me, and I'll send you the link. By the way, I was a professional theatrical sound designer for 20 years. Seriously. Just saying… I have an amazingly eclectic library of music and sound effects. I have some special music picked out for the wedding, and I hope you will try to give it a listen before you read that chapter. That specific music will be posted at the beginning of that chapter.

Thank you so much for all the reviews since the last chapter, as of 1/31/18: Duckbutt, 2 Guests, Asami's clown, ljhjelm49, MsNorthman, VampMad50, princessspot5, Casey8686, Jfozz, Perfecta999, ericlover69, ciasteczko, jackie69, tleel, bttrflybelle, Nicolle1977, The Vikings Succubus, hmmingbirdgrrl


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